1 


HS5 


<x  / — 
X*/c, 


77 


ansforfr: 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION, 


BY  ST.  GEORGE  TUCKER. 
f) 


Rebellion !  foul  dishonouring  word — 

Whose  wrongful  blight  so  oft  has  stained 
The  holiest  cause  that  tongue  or  sword 

Of  mortal  ever  lost  or  gained. 
How  many  a  spirit,  born  to  bless, 

Hath  sunk  beneath  that  withering  narnej 
Whom  but  a  day's,  an  hour's  success, 

Had  wafted  to  eternal  fame! 

MOORE. 


RICHMOND,    VA.: 

PUBLISHED    BY   GEORGE    M.  WEST 
BOSTON:  PHILLIPS,  SAMPSON  &  CO. 

185?. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1857, 

By  GEORGE  M.  WEST, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Virginia. 


PREFACE. 

IT  is  the  design  of  the  author,  in  the  following  pages,  to 
illustrate  the  period  of  our  colonial  history,  to  which  the 
story  relates,  and  to  show  that  this  early  struggle  for  free- 
dom was  the  morning  harbinger  of  that  blessed  light, 
which  has  since  shone  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect 
day. 

Most  of  the  characters  introduced  have  their  existence 
in  real  history  —  Hansford  lived,  acted  and  died  in  the 
manner  here  narrated,  and  a  heart  as  pure  and  true  as 
Yirginia  Temple's  mourned  his  early  doom. 

In  one  of  those  quaint  old  tracts,  which  the  indefati- 
gable antiquary,  Peter  Force,  has  rescued  from  oblivion,  it 
is  stated  that  Thomas  Hansford,  although  a  son  of  Mars, 
did  sometimes  worship  at  the  shrine  of  Yenus.  It  was  his 
unwillingness  to  separate  forever  from  the  object  of  his 
love  that  led  to  his  arrest,  while  lurking  near  her  residence 
in  Gloucester.  From  the  meagre  materials  furnished  by 
history  of  the  celebrated  rebellion  of  Nathaniel  Bacon  the 
following  story  has  been  woven. 

It  were  an  object  to  be  desired,  both  to  author  and  to 
reader,  that  the  fate  of  Thomas  Hansford  had  been  dif- 
ferent. This  could  not  be  but  by  a  direct  violation  of 
history.  Yet  the  lesson  taught  in  this  simple  story,  it 
is  hoped,  is  not  without  its  uses  to  humanity.  Though 
Uc5oO.ll  3 


4  PREFACE. 

vice  may  triumph  for  a  season,  and  virtue  fail  to  meet  its 
appropriate  reward,  yet  nothing  can  confer  on  the  first,  nor 
snatch  from  the  last,  that  substantial  happiness  which  is 
ever  afforded  to  the  mind  conscious  of  rectitude.  The 
self-conviction  which  stings  the  vicious  mind  would  make  a 
diadem  a  crown  of  thorns.  The  mens  sibi  conscia  recti 
can  make  a  gallows  as  triumphant  as  a  throne.  Such  is 
the  moral  which  the  author  designs  to  convey.  If  a  darker 
punishment  awaits  the  guilty,  or  a  purer  reward  is  in  reserve 
for  the  virtuous,  we  must  look  for  them  to  that  righteous 
Judge,  whose  hand  wields  at  once  the  sceptre  of  mercy  and 
the  sword  of  justice. 

And  now  having  prepared  this  brief  preface,  to  stand 
like  a  portico  before  his  simple  edifice,  the  author  would 
cordially  and  respectfully  make  his  bow,  and  invite  his 
guests  to  enter.  If  his  little  volume  is  read,  he  will  be 
amply  repaid  ;  if  approved,  he  will  be  richly  rewarded. 


HANSFORD. 


CHAPTER  1.   ,  /;,  •     „ .-   ,  ;  :••  i 

"  The  rose  of  England  bloomed  on  Gertrude's  cheek  ; 
What  though  these  shades  had  seen  her  birth  ?    Her  sire 
A  Briton's  independence  taught  to  seek 
Far  western  worlds." 

Gertrude  of   Wyoming. 

AMONG  those  who  had  been  driven,  by  the  disturbances 
in  England,  to  seek  a  more  quiet  home  in  the  wilds  of 
Virginia,  was  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Temple.  An 
Englishman  by  birth,  he  was  an  unwilling  spectator  of  the 
revolution  which  erected  the  dynasty  of  Cromwell  upon  the 
ruins  of  the  British  monarchy.  He  had  never  been  able  to 
divest  his  mind  of  that  loyal  veneration  in  which  Charles 
Stuart  was  held  by  so  many  of  his  subjects,  whose  better 
judgments,  if  consulted,  would  have  prompted  them  to 
unite  with  the  revolutionists.  But  it  was  a  strong  principle 
with  that  noble  party,  who  have  borne  in  history  the  dis- 
tinguished name  of  Cavaliers,  rarely  to  consult  the  dictates 
of  reason  in  questions  of  ancient  prejudice.  They  preferred 
rather  to  err  blindly  with  the  long  line  of  their  loyal  for- 
bears in  submission  to  tyranny,  than  to  subvert  the  ancient 
principles  of  government  in  the  attainment  of  freedom. 
They  saw  no  difference  between  the  knife  of  the  surgeon 
and  the  sword  of  the  destroyer — between  the  wholesome 
medicine,  administered  to  heal,  and  the  deadly  poison, 
given  to  destroy. 

5 


6  HANSFORD : 

Nor  are  these  strong  prejudices  without  their  value  in  the 
administration  of  government,  while  they  are  absolutely 
essential  to  the  guidance  of  a  revolution.  They  retard  and 
moderate  those  excesses  which  they  cannot  entirely  control, 
and  even  though  unable  to  avoid  the  descensus  Averni,  they 
render  that  easy  descent  less  fatal  and  destructive.  Nor  is 
there  anything  in  the  history  of  revolutions  more  beautiful 
•than  this  steady  adherence  to  ancient  principles — this  faith- 
ful devotion  to  a  falkn  prince,  when  all  others  have  forsaken 
''him* and  ifed.  While 'man  is  capable  of  enjoying  the  bles- 
sings of  freedom,  the  memory  of  Hampden  will  be  cherished 
and  revered  ;  and  yet  there  is  something  scarcely  less  attrac- 
tive in  the  disinterested  loyalty,  the  generous  self-denial,  of 
the  devoted  Hyde,  who  left  the  comforts  of  home,  the  pride 
of  country  and  the  allurements  of  fame,  to  join  in  the  lonely 
wanderings  of  the  banished  Stuart. 

When  at  last  the  revolution  was  accomplished,  and 
Charles  and  the  hopes  of  the  Stuarts  seemed  to  sleep  in 
the  same  bloody  grave,  Colonel  Temple,  unwilling  longer 
to  remain  under  the  government  of  a  usurper,  left  England 
for  Yirginia,  to  enjoy  in  the  quiet  retirement  of  this  infant 
colony,  the  peace  and  tranquillity  which  was  denied  him  at 
home.  From  this,  the  last  resting  place  of  the  standard 
of  loyalty,  he  watched  the  indications  of  returning  peace, 
and  with  a  proud  and  grateful  heart  he  hailed  the  advent 
of  the  restoration.  For  many  years  an  influential  member 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  he  at  last  retired  from  the  busy 
scenes  of  political  life  to  his  estate  in  Gloucester,  which, 
with  a  touching  veneration  for  the  past,  he  called  Windsor 
Hall.  Here,  happy  in  the  retrospection  of  a  well  spent 
life,  and  cheered  and  animated  by  the  affection  of  a  devoted 
wife  and  lovely  daughter,  the  old  Loyalist  looked  forward 
with  a  tranquil  heart  to  the  change  which  his  increasing 
years  warned  him  could  not  be  far  distant. 

His  wife,  a  notable  dame  of  the  olden  time,  who  was 


A   TALE   OP   BACON'S   REBELLION.  7 

selected,  like  the  wife  of  the  good  vicar,  for  the  qualities 
which  wear  best,  was  one  of  those  thrifty,  bountiful  bodies, 
who  care  but  little  for  the  government  under  which  they 
live,  so  long  as  their  larders  are  well  stored  with  provisions, 
and  those  around  them  are  happy  and  contented.  Pos- 
sessed of  a  good  mind,  and  of  a  kind  heart,  she  devoted  her- 
self to  the  true  objects  of  a  woman's  life,  and  reigned  supreme 
at  home.  Even  when  her  husband  had  boen  immersed  in 
the  cares  and  stirring  events  of  the  revolution,  and  she 
was  forced  to  hear  the  many  causes  of  complaint  urged 
against  the  government  and  stoutly  combatted  by  the 
Colonel,  the  good  dame  had  felt  far  more  interest  in  market 
money  than  in  ship  money — in  the  neatness  of  her  own 
chamber,  than  in  the  purity  of  the  Star  Chamber — and,  in 
short,  forgot  the  great  principles  of  political  economy  in  her 
love  for  the  more  practical  science  of  domestic  economy. 
We  have  said  that  at  home  Mrs.  Temple  reigned  supreme, 
and  so  indeed  she  did.  Although  the  good  Colonel  held 
the  reins,  she  showed  him  the  way  to  go,  and  though  he 
was  the  nominal  ruler  of  his  little  household,  she  was  the 
power  behind  the  throne,  which  even  the  throne  submis- 
sively acknowledged  to  be  greater  than  itself. 

Yet,  for  all  this,  Mrs.  Temple  was  an  excellent  woman, 
and  devoted  to  her  husband's  interests.  Perhaps  it  was  but 
natural  that,  although  with  a  willing  heart,  and  without  a 
murmur,  she  had  accompanied  him  to  Virginia,  she  should, 
with  a  laudable  desire  to  impress  him  with  her  real  worth, 
advert  more  frequently  than  was  agreeable  to  the  heavy 
sacrifice  which  she  had  made.  Nay  more,  we  have  but 
little  doubt  that  the  bustle  and  self-annoyance,  the  flurry 
and  bluster,  which  always  attended  her  domestic  prepara- 
tions, were  considered  as  a  requisite  condiment  to  give  relish 
to  her  food.  We  are  at  least  certain  of  this,  that  her  fre- 
quent strictures  on  the  dress,  and  criticisms  on  the  manners 
of  her  husband,  arose  from  her  real  pride,  and  from  her 


S  HANSFORD : 

desire  that  to  the  world  he  should  appear  the  noble  per- 
fection which  he  was  to  her.  This  the  good  Colonel  fully 
understood,  and  though  sometimes  chafed  by  her  incessant 
taunts,  he  knew  her  real  worth,  and  had  long  since  learned 
to  wear  his  fetters  as  an  ornament. 

Since  their  arrival  in  Virginia,  Heaven  had  blessed  the 
happy  pair  with  a  lovely  daughter — a  bliss  for  which  they 
long  had  hoped  and  prayed,  but  hoped  and  prayed  in  vain. 
If  hope  deferred,  however,  maketh  the  heart  sick,  it  loses 
none  of  its  freshness  and  delight  when  it  is  at  last  realized, 
and  the  fond  hearts  of  her  parents  were  overflowing  with 
love  for  this  their  only  child.  At  the  time  at  which  our 
story  commences,  Yirginia  Temple  (she  was  called  after 
the  fair  young  colony  which  gave  her  birth)  had  just  com- 
pleted her  nineteenth  year.  Reared  for  the  most  part  in 
the  retirement  of  the  country,  she  was  probably  not  pos- 
sessed of  those  artificial  manners,  which  disguise  rather 
than  adorn  the  gay  butterflies  that  flutter  in  the  fashionable 
world,  and  which  passes  for  refinement ;  but  such  conven- 
tional proprieties  no  more  resemble  the  innate  refinement 
of  soul  which  nature  alone  can  impart,  than  the  plastered 
rouge  of  an  old  faded  dowager  resembles  the  native  rose 
which  blushes  on  a  healthful  maiden's  cheek.  There  was 
in  lieu  of  all  this,  in  the  character  of  Virginia  Temple,  a 
freshness  of  feeling  and  artless  frankness,  and  withal  a 
refined  delicacy  of  sentiment  and  expression,  which  made 
the  fair  young  girl  the  pride  and  the  ornament  of  the  little 
circle  in  which  she  moved. 

Under  the  kind  tuition  of  her  father,  who,  in  his  retired 
life,  delighted  to  train  her  mind  in  wholesome  knowledge, 
she  possessed  a  great  advantage  over  the  large  majority  of 
her  sex,  whose  education,  at  that  early  period,  was  wofully 
deficient.  Some  there  were  indeed  (and  in  this  respect  the 
world  has  not  changed  much  in  the  last  two  centuries),  who 
were  tempted  to  sneer  at  accomplishments  superior  to  their 


A  TALE   OF  BACON'S   REBELLION.  9 

own,  and  to  hint  that  a  book-worm  and  a  bluestocking 
would  never  make  a  useful  wife.  But  such  envious  insinu- 
ations were  overcome  by  the  care  of  her  judicious  mother, 
who  spared  no  pains  to  rear  her  as  a  useful  as  well  as  an 
accomplished  woman.  With  such  a  fortunate  education, 
Virginia  grew  up  intelligent,  useful  and  beloved  j  and  her 
good  old  father  used  often  to  say,  in  his  bland,  gentle  man- 
ner, that  he  knew  not  whether  his  little  Jeanie  was  more 
attractive  when,  with  her  favorite  authors,  she  stored  her 
mind  with  refined  and  noble  sentiments,  or  when,  in  her 
little  check  apron  and  plain  gingham  dress,  she  assisted  her 
busy  mother  in  the  preparation  of  pickles  and  preserves. 

There  was  another  source  of  happiness  to  the  fair  Vir- 
ginia, in  which  she  will  be  more  apt  to  secure  the  sympathy 
of  our  gentler  readers.  Among  the  numerous  suitors  who 
sought  her  hand,  was  one  who  had  early  gained  her  heart, 
and  with  none  of  the  cruel  crosses,  as  yet,  which  the  young 
and  inexperienced  think  add  piquancy  to  the  bliss  of  love  ; 
with  the  full  consent  of  her  parents,  she  had  candidly 
acknowledged  her  preference,  and  plighted  her  troth,  with 
all  the  sincerity  of  her  young  heart,  to  the  noble,  the  gen- 
erous, the  brave  Thomas  Hansford. 


10  HANSFORD: 


CHAPTER  II. 

"  Heaven  forming  each  on  other  to  depend, 
A  master,  or  a  servant,  or  a  friend, 
Bids  each  on  other  for  assistance  call, 
Till  one  man's  weakness  grows  the  strength  of  all. 
Wants,  frailties,  passions,  closer  still  ally 
The  common  interest,  or  endear  the  tie. 
To  these  we  owe  true  friendship,  love  sincere, 
Each  homefelt  joy  that  life  inherits  here." 

Essay  on  Man. 

BEGIRT  with  love  and  blessed  with  contentment,  the  little 
family  at  Windsor  Hall  led  a  life  of  quiet,  unobtrusive 
happiness.  In  truth,  if  there  be  a  combination  of  circum- 
stances peculiarly  propitious  to  happiness,  it  will  be  found 
to  cluster  around  one  of  those  old  colonial  plantations, 
which  formed  each  within  itself  a  little  independent  barony. 
There  first  was  the  proprietor,  the  feudal  lord,  proud  of  his 
Anglo-Saxon  blood,  whose  ambition  was  power  and  per- 
sonal freedom,  and  whose  highest  idea  of  wealth  was  in  the 
possession  of  the  soil  he  cultivated.  A  proud  feeling  was 
it,  truly,  to  claim  a  portion  of  God's  earth  as  his  own  ;  to 
stand  upon  his  own  land,  and  looking  around,  see  his  broad 
acres  bounded  only  by  the  blue  horizon  walls,*  and  feel  in 
its  full  force  the  whole  truth  of  the  old  law  maxim,  that  he 
owned  not  only  the  surface  of  the  soil,  but  even  to  the  cen- 
tre of  the  earth,  and  the  zenith  of  the  heavens,  f  There 
can  be  but  little  doubt  that  the  feelings  suggested  by  such 

*  The  immense  grants  taken  up  by  early  patentees,  in  this  country, 
justifies  this  language,  which  might  otherwise  seem  an  extravagant 
hyperbole. 

f  Cujua  est  solum,  ejus  est  usque  ad  ccelum. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          11 

reflections  are  in  the  highest  degree  favorable  to  the  develop- 
ment of  individual  freedom,  so  peculiar  to  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race,  and  so  stoutly  maintained,  especially  among  an  agri- 
cultural people.  This  respect  for  the  ownership  of  land  is 
illustrated  by  the  earliest  legislation,  which  held  sacred  the 
title  to  the  soil  even  from  the  grasp  of  the  law,  and  which 
often  restrained  the  freeholder  from  alienating  his  land  from 
the  lordly  but  unborn  aristocrat  to  whom  it  should  descend. 
Next  in  the  scale  of  importance  in  this  little  baronial 
society,  were  the  indented  servants,  who,  either  for  felony 
or  treason,  were  sent  over  to  the  colony,  and  bound  for  a 
term  of  years  to  some  one  of  the  planters.  In  some  cases, 
too,  the  poverty  of  the  emigrant  induced  him  to  submit 
voluntarily  to  indentures  with  the  captain  of  the  ship  which 
brought  him  to  the  colony,  as  some  compensation  for  his 
passage.  These  servants,  we  learn,  had  certain  privileges 
accorded  to  them,  which  were  not  enjoyed  by  the  slave  : 
the  service  of  the  former  was  only  temporary,  and  after  the 
expiration  of  their  term  they  became  free  citizens  of  the 
colony.  The  female  servants,  too,  were  limited  in  their 
duties  to  such  employments  as  are  generally  assigned  to 
women,  such  as  cooking,  washing  and  housework  ;  while  it 
was  not  unusual  to  see  the  negro  women,  as  even  now,  in 
many  portions  of  the  State,  managing  the  plough,  hoeing 
the  maize,  worming  and  stripping  the  tobacco,  and  harvest- 
ing the  grain.  The  colonists  had  long  remonstrated  against 
the  system  of  indented  servants,  and  denounced  the  policy 
which  thus  foisted  upon  an  infant  colony  the  felons  and  the 
refuse  population  of  the  mother  country.  But,  as  was  too 
often  the  case,  their  petitions  and  remonstrances  were 
treated  with  neglect,  or  spurned  with  contempt.  Besides 
being  distasteful  to  them  as  freemen  and  Cavaliers,  the 
indented  servants  had  already  evinced  a  restlessness  under 
restraint,  which  made  them  dangerous  members  of  the  body 
politic.  In  1662,  a  servile  insurrection  was  secretly  organ- 


12  HANSFORD : 

ized,  which  had  well  nigh  proved  fatal  to  the  colony.  The 
conspiracy  was  however  betrayed  by  a  certain  John  Berken- 
head,  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  movement,  who  was  incited 
to  the  revelation  by  the  hope  of  reward  for  his  treachery ; 
nor  was  the  hope  vain.  Grateful  for  their  deliverance,  the 
Assembly  voted  this  man  his  liberty,  compensated  his  mas- 
ter for  the  loss  of  his  services,  and  still  further  rewarded 
him  by  a  bounty  of  five  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco.  Of 
this  reckless  and  abandoned  wretch,  we  will  have  much  to 
say  hereafter. 

Another  feature  in  this  patriarchal  system  of  government 
was  the  right  of  property  in  those  inferior  races  of  men,  who 
from  their  nature  are  incapable  of  a  high  degree  of  liberty, 
and  find  their  greatest  development,  and  their  truest  happi- 
ness, in  a  condition  of  servitude.  Liberty  is  at  last  a 
reward  to  be  attained  after  a  long  struggle,  and  not  the 
inherent  right  of  every  man.  It  is  the  sword  which  becomes 
a  weapon  of  power  and  defence  in  the  hands  of  the  strong, 
brave,  rational  man,  but  a  dangerous  plaything  when 
entrusted  to  the  hands  of  madmen  or  children.  And  thus, 
by  the  mysterious  government  of  Him,  who  rules  the  earth 
in  righteousness,  has  it  been  wisely  ordained,  that  they  only 
who  are  worthy  of  freedom  shall  permanently  possess  it. 

The  mutual  relations  established  by  the  institution  of 
domestic  slavery  were  beneficial  to  both  parties  concerned. 
The  Anglo-Saxon  baron  possessed  power,  which  he  has 
ever  craved,  and  concentration  and  unity  of  will,  which  was 
essential  to  its  maintenance.  But  that  power  was  tempered, 
and  that  will  controlled,  by  the  powerful  motives  of  policy, 
as  well  as  by  the  dictates  of  justice  and  mercy.  The  Afri- 
can serf,  on  the  other  hand,  was  reduced  to  slavery,  which, 
from  his  very  nature,  he  is  incapable  of  despising  ;  and  an 
implicit  obedience  to  the  will  of  his  master  was  essential  to 
the  preservation  of  the  relation.  But  he,  too,  derived 
benefits  from  the  institution,  which  he  has  never  acquired  in 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          13 

any  other  condition  ;  and  trusting  to  the  justice,  and  relying 
on  the  power  of  his  master  to  provide  for  his  wants,  he 
lived  a  contented  and  therefore  a  happy  life.  Improvident 
himself  by  nature,  his  children  were  reared  without  his  care, 
through  the  helpjess  period  of  infancy,  while  he  was  soothed 
and  cheered  in  the  hours  of  sickness,  and  protected  and 
supported  in  his  declining  years.  The  history  of  the  world 
does  not  furnish  another  example  of  a  laboring  class  who 
could  rely  with  confidence  on  such  wages  as  competency  and 
contentment. 

In  a  new  colony,  where  there  was  but  little  attraction  as 
yet,  for  tradesmen  to  emigrate,  the  home  of  the  planter  be- 
came still  more  isolated  and  independent.  Every  land- 
holder had  not  only  the  slaves  to  cultivate  his  soil  and  to 
attend  to  his  immediate  wants,  but  he  had  also  slaves  edu- 
cated and  skilled  in  various  trades.  Thus,  in  this  busy  hive, 
the  blaze  of  the  forge  was  seen  and  the  sound  of  the  anvil 
was  heard,  in  repairing  the  different  tools  and  utensils  of 
the  farm  ;  the  shoemaker  was  found  at  his  last,  the  spinster 
at  her  wheel,  and  the  weaver  at  the  loom.  Nor  has  this 
system  of  independent  reliance  on  a  plantation  for  its  own 
supplies  been  entirely  superseded  at  the  present  day.  There 
may  still  be  found,  in  some  sections  of  Virginia,  plantations 
conducted  on  this  principle,  where  the  fleece  is  sheared,  and 
the  wool  is  carded,  spun,  woven  and  made  into  clothing  by 
domestic  labor,  and  where  a  few  groceries  and  finer  fabrics 
of  clothing  are  all  that  are  required,  by  the  independent 
planter,  from  the  busy  world  beyond  his  little  domain. 

Numerous  as  were  the  duties  and  responsibilities  that 
devolved  upon  the  planter,  he  met  them  with  cheerfulness 
and  discharged  them  with  faithfulness.  The  dignity  of  the 
master  was  blended  with  the  kind  attention  of  the  friend  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  obedience  of  the  slave,  with  the 
fidelity  of  a  grateful  dependent,  on  the  other.  And  thus 
was  illustrated,  in  their  true  beauty,  the  blessings  of  that 

2 


14  HANSFORD: 

much  abused  but  happy  institution,  which  should  ever 
remain,  as  it  has  ever  been  placed  by  the  commentators  of 
our  law,  next  in  position,  as  it  is  in  interest,  to  the  tender 
relation  of  parent  and  child. 


CHAPTER    III. 

"  An  old  worshipful  gentleman,  who  had  a  great  estate, 
That  kept  a  brave  old  house  at  a  bountiful  rate, — 
With  an  old  lady  whose  anger  one  word  assuages, — 
Like  an  old  courtier  of  the  queen's, 
And  the  queen's  old  courtier." 

Old  Ballad. 

A  PLEASANT  home  was  that  old  Windsor  Hall,  with  its 
broad  fields  in  cultivation  around  it,  and  the  dense  virgin 
forest  screening  it  from  distant  view,  with  the  carefully 
shaven  sward  on  the  velvet  lawn  in  front,  and  the  tall  forest 
poplars  standing  like  sentries  in  front  of  the  house,  and  the 
venerable  old  oak  tree  at  the  side,  with  the  rural  wooden 
bench  beneath  it,  where  Hansford  and  Virginia  used  to  sit 
and  dream  of  future  happiness,  while  the  tame  birds  were 
singing  sweetly  to  their  mates  in  the  green  branches  above 
them.  And  the  house,  too,  with  its  quaint  old  frame,  its 
narrow  windows,  and  its  substantial  furniture,  all  brought 
from  England  and  put  down  here  in  this  new  land  for  the 
comfort  of  the  loyal  old  colonist.  It  had  been  there  for 
years,  that  old  house,  and  the  moss  and  lichen  had  fastened 
on  its  shelving  roof,  and  the  luxuriant  vine  had  been  trained 
to  clamber  closely  by  its  sides,  exposing  its  red  trumpet 
flowers  to  the  sun ;  while  the  gay  humming-bird,  with  her 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          15 

pretty  dress  of  green  and  gold,  sucked  their  honey  with  her 
long  bill,  and  fluttered  her  little  wings  in  the  mild  air  so 
swiftly  that  you  could  scarcely  see  them.  Then  there  was 
that  rude  but  comfortable  old  porch,  destined  to  as  many 
uses  as  the  chest  of  drawers  in  the  tavern  of  the  Deserted 
Tillage.  Protected  by  its  sheltering  roof  alike  from  rain 
and  sunshine,  it  was  often  used,  in  the  mild  summer  weather, 
as  a  favorite  sitting-room,  and  sometimes,  too,  converted 
into  a  dining-room.  There,  too,  might  be  seen,  suspended 
from  the  nails  and  wooden  pegs  driven  into  the  locust  pil- 
lars, long  specimen  ears  of  corn,  samples  of  grain,  and 
different  garden  seeds  tied  up  in  little  linen  bags  ;  and  in 
the  strange  medley,  Mrs.  Temple  had  hung  some  long 
strings  of  red  pepper-pods,  sovereign  specifics  in  cases  of 
sore  throat,  but  which  seemed,  among  so  many  objects 
of  greater  interest,  to  blush  with  shame  at  their  own  inferi- 
ority. It  was  not  yet  the  season  when  the  broad  tobacco 
leaf,  brown  with  the  fire  of  curing,  was  exhibited,  and 
formed  the  chief  staple  of  conversation,  as  well  as  of  trade, 
with  the  old  crony  planters.  The  wonderful  plant  was  just 
beginning  to  suffer  from  the  encroaches  of  the  worm,  the 
only  animal,  save  man,  which  is  life-proof  against  the  deadly 
nicotine  of  this  cultivated  poison. 

In  this  old  porch  the  little  family  was  gathered  on  a 
beautiful  evening  towards  the  close  of  June,  in  the  year 
1676.  The  sun,  not  yet  set,  was  just  sinking  below  the  tall 
forest,  and  was  dancing  and  flickering  gleefully  among  the 
trees,  as  if  rejoicing  that  he  had  nearly  finished  his  long 
day's  journey.  Colonel  Temple  had  just  returned  from  his 
evening  survey  of  his  broad  fields  of  tobacco,  and  was 
quietly  smoking  his  pipe,  for,  like  most  of  his  fellow  colo- 
nists, he  was  an  inveterate  consumer  of  this  home  produc- 
tion. His  good  wife  was  engaged  in  knitting,  an  occupation 
now  almost  fallen  into  disuse  among  ladies,  but  then  a  very 
essential  part  of  the  duties  of  a  large  plantation.  Virginia, 


16  HANSFORD : 

with  her  tambour  frame  before  her,  but  which  she  had  neg- 
lected iii  the  reverie  of  her  own  thoughts,  was  caressing  the 
noble  St.  Bernard  dog  which  lay  at  her  feet,  who  returned 
her  caresses  by  a  grateful  whine,  as  he  licked  the  small 
white  hand  of  his  mistress.  This  dog,  a  fine  specimen  of 
that  noble  breed,  was  a  present  from  Hansford,  and  for  that 
reason,  as  well  as  for  his  intrinsic  merits,  was  highly  prized, 
and  became  her  constant  companion  in  her  woodland  ram- 
bles in  search  of  health  and  wild  flowers.  With  all  the 
vanity  of  a  conscious  favorite,  Nestor  regarded  with  well 
bred  contempt  the  hounds  that  skulked  in  couples  about  the 
yard,  in  anxious  readiness  for  the  next  chase. 

As  the  young  girl  was  thus  engaged,  there  was  an  air  of 
sadness  in  her  whole  mien — such  a  stranger  to  her  usually 
bright,  happy  face,  that  it  did  not  escape  her  father's 
notice. 

"  Why,  Jeanie,"  he  said,  in  the  tender  manner  which  he 
always  used  towards  her,  "  you  are  strangely  silent  this 
evening.  Has  anything  gone  wrong  with  my  little  daugh- 
ter ?" 

"  No,  father,"  she  replied,  "  at  least  nothing  that  I  am 
conscious  of.  We  cannot  be  always  gay  or  sad  at  our 
pleasure,  you  know." 

"  Nay,  but  at  least,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  "  Nestor  has 
been  disobedient,  or  old  Giles  is  sick,  or  you  have  been 
working  yourself  into  a  sentimental  sadness  over  Lady  Wil- 
loughby's*  troubles." 

"  No,  dear  'father  ;  though,  in  reality,  that  melancholy 
story  might  well  move  a  stouter  beart  than  mine. " 

"Well,  confess  then,"  said  her  father,  "that,  like  the 
young  French  gentleman  in  Prince  Arthur's  days,  you  are 
sad  as  night  only  for  wantonness.  But  what  say  you, 

*  I  have  taken  those  beautiful  memoirs,  now  known  to  be  the  produc- 
tion of  a  modern  pen,  to  be  genuine.  Their  truthfulness  to  nature  cer- 
tainly will  justify  me  in  such  a  liberty. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  17 

mother,  has  anything  gone  wrong  in  household  affairs  to 
cross  Virginia  ?" 

"  No,  Mr.  Temple,"  said  the  old  lady.  "  Certainly,  if 
Virginia  is  cast  down  at  the  little  she  has  to  do,  I  don't 
know  what  ought  to  become  of  me.  But  that's  a  matter 
of  little  consequence.  Old  people  have  had  their  day,  and 
needn't  expect  much  sympathy." 

"  Indeed,  dear  mother,"  said  Virginia,  "  I  do  not  com- 
plain of  anything  that  I  have  to  do.  I  know  that  you 
do  not  entrust  as  much  to  me  as  you  ought,  or  as  I 
wish.  I  assure  you,  that  if  anything  has  made  me  sad, 
it  is  not  you,  dear  mother,"  she  added,  as  she  tenderly  kissed 
her  mother. 

"  Oh,  I  know  that,  my  dear ;  but  your  father  seems  to 
delight  in  always  charging  me  with  whatever  goes  wrong. 
Goodness  knows,  I  toil  from  Monday  morning  till  Saturday 
night  for  you  all,  and  this  is  all  the  thanks  I  get.  And  if 
I  were  to  work  my  old  fingers  to  the  bone,  it  would  be  all 
the  same.  Well,  it  won't  last  always." 

To  this  assault  Colonel  Temple  knew  the  best  plan  was 
not  to  reply.  He  had  learned  from  sad  experience  the 
truth  of  the  old  adages,  that  "  breath  makes  fire  hotter," 
and  that  "  the  least  said  is  soonest  mended."  He  only 
signified  his  consciousness  of  what  had  been  said  by  a  quiet 
shrug  of  the  shoulders,  and  then  resumed  his  conversation 
with  Virginia. 

"  Well  then,  my  dear,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conjecture  the 
cause  of  your  sadness,  and  must  throw  myself  upon  your 
indulgence  to  tell  me  or  not,  as  you  will.  I  don't  think  you 
ever  lost  anything  by  confiding  in  your  old  father." 

"  I  know  I  never  did,"  said  Virginia,  with  a  gentle  sigh, 
"  and  it  is  for  the  very  reason  that  you  always  make  my 
foolish  little  sorrows  your  own,  that  I  am  unwilling  to 
trouble  you  with  them.  But  really,  on  the  present  occasion- 

I  scarcely  know  what  to  tell  you. " 

2* 


1  8  HANSFORD  I 

"Then  why  that  big  pearl  in  your  eye?"  returned  her 
father.  "Ah,  you  little  rogue,  I  have  found  you  out  at 
last.  Mother,  I  have  guessed  the  riddle.  Somebody  has 
not  been  here  as  often  lately  as  he  should.  Now  confess, 
you  silly  girl,  that  I  have  guessed  your  secret." 

The  big  tears  that  swam  in  his  daughter's  blue  eyes,  and 
then  rolling  down,  dried  themselves  upon  her  cheek,  told 
the  truth  too  plainly  to  justify  denial. 

"  I  really  think  Virginia  has  some  reason  to  complain," 
said  her  mother.  "  It  is  now  nearly  three  weeks  since  Mr. 
Hansford  was  here.  A  young  lawyer's  business  don't  keep 
him  so  much  employed  as  to  prevent  these  little  courteous 
attentions." 

"  We  used  to  be  more  attentive  in  our  day,  didn't  we, 
old  lady  ?"  said  Colonel  Temple,  as  he  kissed  his  good  wife's 
cheek. 

This  little  demonstration  entirely  wiped  away  the  remem- 
brance of  her  displeasure.  She  returned  the  salutation 
with  an  affectionate  smile,  as  she  replied, 

"  Yes,  indeed,  Henry  ;  if  there  was  less  sentiment,  there 
was  more  real  affection  in  those  days.  Love  was  more  in 
the  heart  then,  and  less  out  of  books,  than  now. " 

"  Oh,  but  we  were  not  without  our  little  sentiments,  too. 
Virginia,  it  would  have  done  you  good  to  have  seen  how 
gaily  your  mother  danced  round  the  May-pole,  with  her 
courtly  train,  as  the  fair  queen  of  them  all ;  and  how  I,  all 
ruffs  and  velvet,  at  the  head  of  the  boys,  and  on  bended 
knee,  begged  her  majesty  to  accept  the  homage  of  our  loyal 
hearts.  Don't  you  remember,  Bessy,  the  grand  parliament, 
wher.  we  voted  you  eight  subsidies,  and  four  fifteenths  to  be 
paid  in  flowers  and  candy,  for  your  grand  coronation  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes  !"  said  the  old  lady  ;  "  and  then  the  coronation 
itself,  with  the  throne  made  of  the  old  master's  desk,  all 
nicely  carpeted  and  decorated  with  flowers  and  evergreen  ; 
and  poor  Billy  Newton,  with  his  long,  solemn  face,  a  paste- 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  19 

board  mitre,  and  bis  sister's  night-gown  for  a  pontifical  robe, 
acting  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  placing  the  crown 
upon  my  head  !" 

"  And  the  game  of  Barley-break  in  the  evening,"  said  the 
Colonel,  fairly  carried  away  by  the  recollections  of  these  old 
scenes,  "  when  you  and  I,  hand  in  hand,  pretended  only  to 
catch  the  rest,  and  preferred  to  remain  together  thus,  in 
what  we  called  the  hell,  because  we  felt  that  it  was  a  heaven 
to  us."* 

"  Oh,  fie,  for  shame!"  said  the  old  lady.  "Ah,  well, 
they  don't  have  such  times  now-a-days." 

"No,  indeed,"  said  her  husband;  "old  Noll  came  with 
his  nasal  twang  and  puritanical  cant,  and  dethroned  May- 
queens  as  well  as  royal  kings,  and  his  amusements  were 
only  varied  by  a  change  from  a  hypocritical  sermon  to  a 
psalm-singing  conventicle." 

Thus  the  old  folks  chatted  on  merrily,  telling  old  stories, 
which,  although  Yirgnia  had  heard  them  a  hundred  times 
and  knew  them  all  by  heart,  she  loved  to  hear  again. 
She  had  almost  forgotten  her  own  sadness  in  this  occupa- 
tion of  her  mind,  when  her  father  said — 

"  But,  Bessy,  we  had  almost  forgotten,  in  our  recollec- 
tions of  the  past,  that  our  little  Jeanie  needs  cheering  up. 
You  should  remember,  my  daughter,  that  if  there  were  any 
serious  cause  for  Mr.  Hansford's  absence,  he  would  have 

*  The  modern  reader  will  need  some  explanation  of  this  old  game,  whose 
terms  seem,  to  the  refined  ears  of  the  present  day,  a  little  profane.  Bar- 
ley-break resembled  a  game  which  I  have  seen  played  in  my  own  time, 
called  King  Cantelope,  but  with  some  striking  points  of  difference.  In 
the  old  game,  the  play-ground  was  divided  into  three  parts  of  equal  size, 
and  the  middle  of  these  sections  was  known  by  the  name  of  hell.  The 
boy  and  girl,  whose  position  was  in  this  place,  were  to  attempt,  with 
joined  hands,  to  catch  those  who  should  try  to  pass  from  one  section  to 
the  other.  As  each  one  was  caught,  he  became  a  recruit  for  the  couple  in 
the  middle,  and  the  last  couple  who  remained  uncaught  took  the  places 
of  those  in  hell,  and  thus  the  game  commenced  again. 


20  HANSFORD I 

written  to  yon.  Some  trivial  circumstance,  or  some  matter 
of  business,  has  detained  him  from  day  to  day.  He  will  be 
here  to-morrow,  I  have  no  doubt." 

"  I  know  I  ought  not  to  feel  anxious,"  said  Virginia,  her 
lip  quivering  with  emotion ;  "  he  has  so  much  to  do,  not 
only  in  his  profession,  but  his  poor  old  mother  needs  his 
presence  a  great  deal  now  ;  she  was  far  from  well  when  he 
was  last  here." 

"  Well,  I  respect  him  for  that,"  said  her  mother.  "  It  is 
too  often  the  case  with  these  young  lovers,  that  when  they 
think  of  getting  married,  and  doing  for  themselves,  the  poor 
old  mothers  are  laid  on  the  shelf." 

"  And  yet,"  continued  Virginia,  "  I  have  a  kind  of  pre- 
sentiment that  all  may  not  be  right  with  him.  I  know  it  is 
foolish,  but  I  can't— I  can't  help  it  ?" 

"  These  presentiments,  my  child,"  said  her  father,  who 
was  not  without  some  of  the  superstition  of  the  time, 
"  although  like  dreams,  often  sent  by  the  Almighty  for  wise 
purposes,  are  more  often  but  the  phantasies  of  the  imagi- 
nation. The  mind,  when  unable  to  account  for  circum- 
stances by  reason,  is  apt  to  torment  itself  with  its  own 
fancy — and  this  is  wrong,  Jeanie." 

"I  know  all  this,"  replied  Virginia,  "and  yet  have  no 
power  to  prevent  it.  But,"  she  added,  smiling  through  her 
tears,  "  I  will  endeavor  to  be  more  cheerful,  and  trust  for 
better  things." 

"  That's  a  good  girl ;  I  assure  you  I  would  rather  hear 
you  laugh  once  than  to  see  you  cry  a  hundred  times,"  said 
the  old  man,  repeating  a  witticism  that  Virginia  had  heard 
ever  since  her  childish  trials  and  tears  over  broken  dolls  or 
tangled  hair.  The  idea  was  so  grotesque  and  absurd,  that 
the  sweet  girl  laughed  until  she  cried  again. 

"Besides,"  added  her  father,  "I  heard  yesterday  that 
that  pestilent  fellow,  Bacon,  was  in  arms  again,  and  it  may 
be  necessary  for  Berkeley  to  use  some  harsh  means  to  pun- 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          21 

ish  his  insolence.  I  would  not  be  at  all  surprised  if  Hans- 
ford  were  engaged  in  this  laudable  enterprise." 

"  God,  in  his  mercy,  forbid,"  said  Virginia,  in  a  faint 
yoice. 

"  And  why,  my  daughter  ?  Would  you  shrink  from 
lending  the  services  of  him  you  love  to  your  country,  in  her 
hour  of  need  ?» 

" But  the  danger,  father!" 

"  There  can  be  but  little  danger  JQ  an  insurrection  like 
this.  Strong  measures  will  soon  suppress  it.  Nay,  the 
very  show  of  organized  and  determined  resistance  will 
strike  terror  into  the  white  hearts  of  these  cowardly  knaves. 
But  if  this  were  not  so,  the  duty  would  be  only  stronger." 

"Yes,  Virginia,"  said  her  mother.  "No  one  knows 
more  than  I,  how  hard  it  is  for  a  woman  to  sacrifice  her 
selfish  love  to  her  country.  But  in  my  day  we  never  hesi- 
tated, and  I  was  happy  in  my  tears,  when  I  saw  your  father 
going  forth  to  fight  for  his  king  arid  country.  There  was 
none  of  your  '  God  forbid '  then,  and  you  need  not  expect 
to  be  more  free  from  trials  than  those  who  have  gone 
before  you." 

There  was  no  real  unkindness  meant  in  this  speech  of 
Mrs.  Temple,  but,  as  we  have  before  reminded  the  reader, 
she  took  especial  delight  in  magnifying  her  own  joys  and 
her  own  trials,  and  in  making  an  invidious  comparison  of 
the  present  day  with  her  earlier  life,  always  to  the  prejudice 
of  the  former.  Tenderly  devoted  to  her  daughter,  and 
deeply  sympathizing  in  her  distress,  she  yet  could  not  forego 
the  pleasure  of  reverting  to  the  time  when  she  too  had 
similar  misfortunes,  which  she  had  borne  with  such  exem- 
plary fortitude.  To  be  sure,  this  heroism  existed  only  in 
the  dear  old  lady's  imagination,  for  no  one  gave  way  to 
trials  with  more  violent  grief  than  she.  Virginia,  though 
accustomed  to  her  mother's  peculiar  temper,  was  yet  affected 
by  her  language,  and  her  tears  flowed  afresh. 


22  HANSFORD : 

"  Cheer  up,' my  daughter,"  said  her  father,  "these  tears 
are  not  only  unworthy  of  you,  but  they  are  uncalled  for 
now.  This  is  at  last  but  conjecture  of  mine,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  Hansford  is  well  and  as  happy  as  he  can  be 
away  from  you.  But  you  would  have  proved  a  sad  heroine 
in  the  revolution.  I  don't  think  you  would  imitate  success- 
fully the  bravery  and  patriotism  of  Lady  Willoughby,  whose 
memoirs  you  have  been  reading.  Oh  !  that  was  a  day  for 
heroism,  when  mothers  devoted  their  sons,  and  wives  their 
husbands,  to  the  cause  of  England  and  of  loyalty,  almost 
without  a  tear. " 

"I  thank  God,"  said  the  weeping  girl,  "that  he  has  not 
placed  me  in  such  trying  scenes.  With  all  my  admiration 
for  the  courage  of  my  ancestors,  I  have  no  ambition  to  suffer 
their  dangers  and  distress." 

"  Well,  my  dear,"  replied  her  father,  "  I  trust  you  may 
never  be  called  upon  to  do  so.  But  if  such  should  be  your 
fate,  I  also  trust  that  you  have  a  strong  heart,  which  would 
bear  you  through  the  trial.  Come  now,  dry  your  tears,  and 
let  me  hear  you  sing  that  old  favorite  of  mine,  written  by 
poor  Dick  Lovelace.  His  Lucasta*  must  have  been  some- 
thing of  the  same  mind  as  my  Yirgiuia,  if  she  reproved  him 
for  deserting  her  for  honour." 

"  Oh,  father,  I  feel  the  justice  of  your  rebuke.  I  know 
that  none  but  a  brave  woman  deserves  the  love  of  a  brave 
man.  Will  you  forgive  me  ?" 

"Forgive  you,  my  daughter? — yes,  if  you  have  done 
anything  to  be  forgiven.  Your  old  father,  though  his  head 
is  turned  gray,  has  still  a  warm  place  in  his  heart  for  all 
your  distresses,  my  child ;  and  that  heart  will  be  cold  in 
death  before  it  ceases  to  feel  for  you.  But  come,  I  must 
not  lose  my  song,  either." 


*  The  lady  to  whom  the  song  is  addressed.     It  may  be  found  in  Percy's 
Reliques,  or  in  almost  any  volume  of  old  English  poetry. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          23 

And  Virginia,  her  sweet  voice  rendered  more  touchingly 
beautiful  by  her  emotion,  sang  the  noble  lines,  which  have 
almost  atoned  for  all  the  vanity  and  foppishness  of  their 
unhappy  author. 

"  Tell  me  not,  sweet,  I  am  unkind, 

If  from  the  nunnery 
Of  thy  chaste  breast  and  quiet  mind, 
To  war  and  arms  I  fly. 

"  True,  a  new  mistress  now  I  chase, 

The  first  foe  in  the  field, 
And  with  a  stronger  faith  embrace 
The  sword,  the  horse,  the  shield. 

"  Yet,  this  inconstancy  is  such 

As  you  too  shall  adore  j 
I  had  not  loved  thee,  dear,  so  much, 
Loved  I  not  honour  more !" 

"  Yes,"  repeated  the  old  patriot,  as  the  last  notes  of  the 
sweet  voice  died  away ;  "  yes,  '  I  had  not  loved  thee,  dear, 
so  much,  loved  I  not  honour  more  1'  This  is  the  language 
of  the  truly  noble  lover.  Without  a  heart  which  rises 
superior  to  itself,  in  its  devotion  to  honour,  it  is  impossible 
to  love  truly.  Love  is  not  a  pretty  child,  to  be  crowned 
with  roses,  and  adorned  with  trinkets,  and  wooed  by  soft 
music.  To  the  truly  brave,  it  is  a  god  to  be  worshipped,  a 
reward  to  be  attained,  and  to  be  attained  only  in  the  path 
of  honour  1" 

"  I  think,"  said  Mrs.  Temple,  looking  towards  the  wood, 
"  that  Yirginia's  song  acted  as  an  incantation.  If  I  mis- 
take not,  Master  Hansford  is  even  now  coming  to  explain 
his  own  negligence." 


24  HANSFORD I 


CHAPTER  IV. 

"  Camo  there  a  certain  lord,  neat,  triinly  dressed, 
Fresh  as  a  bridegroom." 

Henry  IV. 

IN  truth  a  young  man,  well  mounted  on  a  powerful  bay, 
was  seen  approaching  from  the  forest,  that  lay  towards 
Jamestown.  Virginia's  cheek  flushed  with  pleasure  as  she 
thought  how  soon  all  her  fears  would  vanish  away  in  the 
presence  of  her  lover — and  she  laughed  confusedly,  as  her 
father  said, 

"  Aye,  come  dry  your  tears,  you  little  rogue — those  eyes 
are  not  as  bright  as  Hansford  would  like  to  see.  Tears  are 
very  pretty  in  poetry  and  fancy,  but  when  associated  with 
swelled  eyes  and  red  noses,  they  lose  something  of  their 
sentiment. " 

As  the  horseman  came  nearer,  however,  Virginia  found 
to  her  great  disappointment,  that  the  form  was  not  that  of 
Hansford,  and  with  a  deep  sigh  she  went  into  the  house. 
The  stranger,  who  now  drew  up  to  the  door,  proved  to  be 
a  young  man  of  about  thirty  years  of  age,  tall  and  well- 
proportioned,  his  figure  displaying  at  once  symmetrical 
beauty  and  athletic  strength.  He  was  dressed  after  the 
fashion  of  the  day,  in  a  handsome  velvet  doublet,  trussed 
with  gay-colored  points  at  the  waist  to  the  breeches,  which 
reaching  only  to  the  knee,  left  the  finely  turned  leg  well 
displayed  in  the  closely-fitting  white  silk  stockings.  Around 
his  wrists  and  neck  were  revealed  graceful  ruffles  of  the 
finest  cambric.  The  heavy  boots,  which  were  usually  worn 
by  cavaliers,  were  in  this  case  supplied  by  shoes  fastened 
with  roses  of  ribands.  A  handsome  sword,  with  orna- 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          25 

merited  hilt,  and  richly  chased  scabbard,  was  secured 
gracefully  by  his  side  in  its  fringed  hanger.  The  felt  hat, 
whose  wide  brim  was  looped  up  and  secured  by  a  gold 
button  in  front,  completed  the  costume  of  the  young  stranger. 
The  abominable  fashion  of  periwigs,  which  maintained  its 
reign  over  the  realm  of  fashion  for  nearly  a  century,  was 
just  beginning  to  be  introduced  into  the  old  country,  and 
had  not  yet  been  received  as  orthodox  in  the  colony.  The 
rich  chestnut  hair  of  the  stranger  fell  in  abundance  over 
his  fine  shoulders,  and  was  parted  carefully  in  the  middle 
to  display  to  its  full  advantage  his  broad  intellectual  fore- 
head. But  in  compliance  with  custom,  his  hair  was  dressed 
with  the  fashionable  love-locks,  plaited  and  adorned  with 
ribands,  and  falling  foppishly  over  either  ear. 

But  dress,  at  last,  like  "rank,  is  but  the  guinea's  stamp, 
the  man's  the  gowd  for  a'  that,"  and  in  outward  appearance 
at  least,  the  stranger  was  of  no  alloyed  metal.  There  was 
in  his  air  that  easy  repose  and  self-possession  which  is 
always  perceptible  in  those  whose  life  has  been  passed  in 
association  with  the  refined  and  cultivated.  But  still  there 
was  something  about  his  whole  manner,  which  seemed  to 
betray  the  fact,  that  this  habitual  self-possession,  this  frank 
and  easy  carriage  was  the  result  of  a  studied  and  constant 
control  over  his  actions,  rather  than  those  of  a  free  and 
ingenuous  heart. 

This  idea,  however,  did  not  strike  the  simple  minded 
Virginia,  as  with  natural,  if  not  laudable  curiosity,  she 
surveyed  the  handsome  young  stranger  through  the  win- 
dow of  the  hall.  The  kind  greeting  of  the  hospitable  old 
colonel  having  been  given,  the  stranger  dismounted,  and 
the  fine  bay  that  he  rode  was  committed  to  the  protecting 
care  of  a  grinning  young  African  in  attendance,  who  with 
his  feet  dangling  from  the  stirrups  trotted  him  off  towards 
the  stable. 

"I  presume,"  said  the  stranger,  as  they  walked  towards 
3 


26  HANSFORD : 

the  house,  "  that  from  the  directions  I  have  received,  I  have 
the  honor  of  seeing  Colonel  Temple.  It  is  to  the  kind- 
ness of  Sir  William  Berkeley  that  I  owe  the  pleasure  I 
enjoy  in  forming  your  acquaintance,  sir,"  and  he  handed  a 
letter  from  his  excellency,  which  the  reader  may  take  the 
liberty  of  reading  with  us,  over  Colonel  Temple's  shoulder. 

"  Right  trusty  old  friend,"  ran  the  quaint  and  formal,  yet 
familiar  note.  "  The  bearer  of  these,  Mr.  Alfred  Bernard, 
a  youth  of  good  and  right  rare. merit,  but  lately  from  Eng- 
land, and  whom  by  the  especial  confidence  reposed  in  him 
from  our  noble  kinsman  Lord  Berkeley,  we  have  made  our 
private  secretary,  hath  desired  acquaintance  with  some  of 
the  established  gentlemen  in  the  colony,  the  better  for  his 
own  improvement,  to  have  their  good  society.  And  in  all 
good  faith,  there  is  none,  to  whom  I  can  more  readily  com- 
mend him,  than  Colonel  Henry  Temple,  with  the  more  per- 
fect confidence  in  his  desire  to  oblige  him,  who  is  always  a3 
of  yore,  his  right  good  friend, 

"WILLIAM  BERKELEY,  Kn't. 
" From  our  Palace  at  Jamestown,  June  20,  A.  D.  1676." 

"  It  required  not  this  high  commendation,  my  dear  sir," 
said  old  Temple,  pressing  his  guest  cordially  by  the  hand, 
"to  bid  you  welcome  to  my  poor  roof.  But  I  now  feel 
that  to  be  a  special  honour,  which  would  otherwise  be  but 
the  natural  duty  of  hospitality.  Come,  right  welcome  to 
Windsor  Hall." 

With  these  words  they  entered  the  house,  where  Alfred 
Bernard  was  presented  to  the  ladies,  and  paid  his  devoirs 
with  such  knightly  grace,  that  Virginia  admired,  and  Mrs. 
Temple  heartily  approved,  a  manner  and  bearing,  which, 
she  whispered  to  her  daughter,  was  worthy  of  the  old 
cavalier  days  before  the  revolution.  Supper  was  soon  an- 
nounced— not  the  awkward  purgatorial  meal,  perilously 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          27 

poised  in  cups,  and  eaten  with  greasy  fingers — so  dire  a  foe 
to  comfort  and  silk  dresses — but  the  substantial  supper  of 
the  olden  time.  It  is  far  from  our  intention  to  enter  into 
minute  details,  yet  we  cannot  refrain  from  adverting  to  the 
fact  that  the  good  old  cavalier  grace  was  said  by  the  Colo- 
iiel,  with  as  much  solemnity  as  his  cheerful  face  would 
wear — that  grace  which  gave  such  umbrage  to  the  Puritans 
with  their  sour  visages  and  long  prayers,  and  which  con- 
sisted of  those  three  expressive  words,  "  God  bless  us." 

"I  have  always  thought,"  said  the  Colonel,  apologeti- 
cally, "  that  this  was  enough — -for  where's  the  use  of  praying 
over  our  meals,  until  they  get  so  cold  and  cheerless,  that 
there  is  less  to  be  thankful  for." 

"Especially,"  said  'Bernard,  chiming  in  at  once  with  the 
old  man's  prejudices,  "  when  this  brief  language  contains 
all  that  is  necessary — for  even  Omnipotence  can  but  bless 
us — and  we  may  easily  leave  the  mode  to  Him." 

"  Well  said,  young  man,  and  now  come  and  partake  of 
our  homely  fare,  seasoned  with  a  hearty  welcome,"  said  the 
Colonel,  cordially. 

Nor  loth  was  Alfred  Bernard  to  do  full  justice  to  the 
ample  store  before  him.  A  ride  of  more  than  thirty  miles 
had  whetted  an  appetite  naturally  good,  and  the  youth  of 
"right  rare  merit,"  did  riot  impress  his  kind  host  very 
strongly  with  his  conversational  powers  during  his  hearty 
meal. 

The  repast  being  over,  the  little  party  retired  to  a  room, 
which  the  old  planter  was  pleased  to  call  his  study,  but 
which  savored  far  more  of  the  presence  of  the  sportive 
Diana,  than  of  the  reflecting  muses.  Over  the  door,  as 
you  entered  the  room,  were  fastened  the  large  antlers  of 
some  noble  deer,  who  had  once  bounded  freely  and  grace- 
fully through  his  native  forest.  Those  broad  branches  are 
now,  by  a  sad  fatality,  doomed  to  support  the  well  oiled 
fowling-piece  that  laid  their  wearer  low.  Fishing  tackle, 


28  HANSFORD : 

shot- pouches,  fox  brushes,  and  other  similar  evidences  and 
trophies  of  sport,  testified  to  the  Colonel's  former  delight 
in  angling  and  the  chase ;  but  now  alas  I  owing  to  the 
growing  infirmities  of  age,  though  he  still  cherished  his 
pack,  and  encouraged  the  sport,  he  could  only  start  the 
youngsters  in  the  neighborhood,  and  give  them  God  speed  ! 
as  with  horses,  hounds,  and  horns  they  merrily  scampered 
away  in  the  fresh,  early  morning.  But  with  his  love  for 
these  active,  manly  sports,  Colonel  Temple  was  devoted  to 
reading  such  works  as  ran  with  his  prejudices,  and  savored 
of  the  most  rigid  loyalty.  His  books,  indeed,  were  few,  for 
in  that  day  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  procure  books  at  all, 
especially  for  the  colonists,  who  cut  off  from  the  great  foun- 
tain of  literature  which  was  then  just  reviving  from  the 
severe  drought  of  puritanism,  were  but  sparingly  supplied 
with  the  means  of  information.  But  a  few  months  later 
than  the  time  of  which  we  write,  Sir  William  Berkeley 
boasted  that  education  was  at  a  low  ebb  in  Yirginia,  and 
thanked  his  God  that  so  far  there  were  neither  free  schools 
nor  printing  presses  in  the  colony — the  first  instilling  and  the 
last  disseminating  rebellious  sentiments  among  the  people. 
Yet  under  all  these  disadvantages,  Colonel  Temple  was 
well  versed  in  the  literature  of  the  last  two  reigns,  and  with 
some  of  the  more  popular  works  of  the  present.  Shakspeare 
was  his  constant  companion,  and  the  spring  to  which  he 
often  resorted  to  draw  supplies  of  wisdom.  But  Milton 
was  held  in  especial  abhorrence — for  the  prose  writings  of 
the  eloquent  old  republican  condemned  unheard  the  sub- 
lime strains  of  his  divine  poem. 


A   TALE    OF    BACON'S   REBELLION.  29 


CHAPTER  Y. 

"  A  man  in  all  the  world's  new  fashion  planted, 
That  hath  a  mint  of  phrases  in  his  brain  ; 
One,  whom  the  music  of  his  own  vain  tongue, 
Doth  ravish  like  enchanting  harmony  ; 
A  man  of  compliments."  Love's  Labor  Lost. 

"WELL,  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  the  old  Colonel  as  they 
entered  the  room,  "  take  a  seat,  and  let's  have  a  social  chat. 
We  old  planters  don't  get  a  chance  often  to  hear  the  news 
from  Jamestown,  and  I  am  afraid  you  will  find  me  an 
inquisitive  companion.  But  first  join  me  in  a  pipe.  There 
is  no  greater  stimulant  to  conversation  than  the  smoke  of 
our  Virginia  weed." 

"You  must  excuse  me,"  said  Bernard,  smiling,  "I  have 
not  yet  learned  to  smoke,  although,  if  I  remain  in  Virginia, 
I  suppose  I  will  have  to  contract  a  habit  so  general  here." 

"  What,  not  smoke  !"  said  the  old  man,  in  surprise.  "  Why 
tobacco  is  at  once  the  calmer  of  sorrows,  the  assuager  of 
excitement ;  the  companion  of  solitude,  the  life  of  company  ; 
the  quickener  of  fancy,  the  composer  of  thought." 

"  I  had  expected,"  returned  Bernard,  laughing  at  his 
host's  enthusiasm,  "that  so  rigid  a  loyalist  as  yourself, 
would  be  a  convert  to  King  James's  Counterblast.  Have 
you  never  read  that  work  of  the  royal  pedant  ?" 

"  Read  it !"  cried  the  Colonel,  impetuously.  "  No  I  and 
what's  more,  with  all  my  loyalty  and  respect  for  his  mem- 
ory, I  would  sooner  light  my  pipe  with  a  page  of  his  Basili- 
con,  than  subscribe  to  the  sentiments  of  his  Counterblast." 

"Oh,  he  had  his  supporters  too,"  replied  Bernard, 
smiling.  "  You  surely  cannot  have  forgotten  the  song  of 

3* 


30  HANSFOIID  : 

Cucullus  in  the  Lover's  Melancholy  ;"  and  the  young  man 
repeated,  with  mock  solemnity,  the  lines, 

"  They  that  will  learn  to  drink  a  health  in  hell, 
Must  learn  on  earth  to  take  tobacco  well. 
For  in  hell  they  drink  no  wine,  nor  ale,  nor  beer, 
But  fire  and  smoke  and  stench,  as  we  do  here." 

"Well  put,  my  young  friend,"  said  Temple,  laughing  in 
his  turn.  "  But  you  should  remember  that  John  Ford  had 
to  put  such  a  sentiment  in  the  mouth  of  a  Bedlamite. 
Here,  Sandy,"  he  added,  kicking  a  little  negro  boy,  who 
was  nodding  in  the  corner,  dreaming,  perhaps,  of  the 
pleasures  of  the  next  'possum  hunt,  "  Run  to  the  kitchen, 
Sandy,  and  bring  me  a  coal  of  fire." 

"  And,  now,  Mr.  Bernard,  what  is  the  news  political 
and  social  in  the  big  world  of  Jamestown  ?" 

"Much  to  interest  you  in  both  respects.  It  is  indeed  a 
part  of  my  duty  in  this  visit,  to  request  that  you  and  the 
ladies  will  be  present  at  a  grand  masque  ball  to  be  given 
on  Lady  Frances's  birth-night." 

"A  masque  in  Virginia  I"  exclaimed  the  Colonel,  "that 
will  be  a  novelty  indeed  !  But  the  Governor  has  not  the 
opportunity  or  the  means  at  hand  to  prepare  it." 

"  Oh,  yes  !"  replied  Bernard,  "we  have  all  determined  to 
do  our  best.  The  assembly  will  be  in  session,  and  the 
good  burgesses  will  aid  us,  and  at  any  rate  if  we  cannot 
eclipse  old  England,  we  must  try  to  make  up  in  pleasure, 
what  is  wanting  in  brilliancy.  I  trust  Miss  Temple  will 
aid  us  by  her  presence,  which  in  itself  will  add  both  plea- 
sure and  brilliancy  to  the  occasion." 

Virginia  blushed  slightly  at  the  compliment,  and  re- 
plied— 

"Indeed,  Mr.  Bernard,  the  presence  which  you  seem  to 
esteem  so  highly  depends  entirely  on  my  father's  permis- 
sion— but  I  will  unite  with  you  in  urging  that  as  it  is  a 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  31 

novelty  to  me,  he  will  not  deny  his  assent.  I  should  like 
of  all  things  to  go." 

"Well,  my  daughter,  as  you  please — but  what  says  mo- 
ther to  the  plan  ?  You  know  she  is  not  queen  consort  only, 
and  she  must  be  consulted." 

"I  am  sure,  Colonel  Temple,"  said  the  good  lady,  "that 
I  do  as  much  to  please  Virginia  as  you  can.  To  be  sure, 
a  masque  in  Virginia  can  afford  but  little  pleasure  to  me, 
who  have  seen  them  in  all  their  glory  in  England,  but 
I  have  no  doubt  it  will  be  all  well  enough  for  the  young 
people,  and  I  am  always  ready  to  contribute  to  their 
amusement." 

"  I  know  that,  my  dear,  and  Jeanie  can  testify  to  it  as 
well  as  I.  But,  Mr.  Bernard,  what  is  to  be  the  subject  of 
this  masque,  and  who  is  the  author,  or  are  we  to  have  a 
rehash  of  rare  Ben  Jonson's  Golden  Age  ?" 

"  It  is  to  be  a  kind  of  parody  of  that,  or  rather  a  bur- 
lesque ;"  replied  Bernard,  "  and  is  designed  to  hail  the 
advent  of  the  Restoration,  a  theme  worthy  of  the  genius  of 
a  Shakspeare,  though,  unfortunately,  it  is  now  in  far  hum- 
bler hands." 

"A  noble  subject,  truly,"  said  the  Colonel,  "and  from 
your  deprecating  air,  I  have  no  doubt  that  we  are  to  be 
indebted  to  your  pen  for  its  production." 

"Partly,  sir,"  returned  Bernard,  with  an  assumption  of 
modesty.  "  It  is  the  joint  work  of  Mr.  Hutchinson,  the 
chaplain  of  his  excellency,  and  myself." 

"  Oh  !  Mr.  Bernard,  are  you  a  poet,"  cried  the  old  lady 
in  admiration;  "this  is  really  an  honour.  Mr.  Temple 
used  to  write  verses  when  we  were  young,  and  although 
they  were  never  printed,  they  were  far  prettier  than  a  great 
deal  of  the  lovesick  nonsense  that  they  make  such  a  fuss 
about.  I  was  always  begging  him  to  publish,  but  he  never 
would  push  himself  forward,  like  others  with  not  half  his 
merit." 


32  HANSFORD : 

"  I  do  not  pretend  to  any  merit,  my  dear  madam,"  said 
Bernard,  "  but  I  trust  that  with  my  rigid  loyalty,  and  par- 
son Hutchinson's  rigid  episcopacy,  the  roundhead  puritans 
will  not  meet  with  more  favour  than  they  deserve.  Neither 
of  us  have  been  long  enough  in  the  colony  to  have  learned 
from  observation  the  taste  of  the  Yirginians,  but  there  is 
abundant  evidence  on  record  that  they  were  the  last  to 
desert  the  cause  of  loyalty,  and  to  submit  to  the  sway  of 
the  puritan  Protector." 

"  Right,  my  friend,  and  she  ever  will  be,  or  else  old 
Henry  Temple  will  seek  out  some  desolate  abode  untainted 
with  treason  wherein  to  drag  out  the  remainder  of  his  days." 

"  Your  loyalty  was  never  more  needed,"  said  Bernard ; 
"  for  Virginia,  I  fear,  will  yet  be  the  scene  of  a  rebellion, 
which  may  be  but  the  brief  epitome  of  the  revolution." 

"Aye,  you  refer  to  this  Baconian  movement.  I  had 
heard  that  the  demagogue  was  again  in  arms.  But  surely 
you  cannot  apprehend  any  danger  from  such  a  source." 

"  Well,  I  trust  not ;  and  yet  the  harmless  worm,  if  left 
to  grow,  may  acquire  fangs.  Bacon  is  eloquent  and  popu- 
lar, and  has  already  under  his  standard  some  of  the  very 
flower  of  the  colony.  He  must  be  crushed  and  crushed  at 
once  ;  and  yet  I  fear  the  worst  from  the  clemency  and  de- 
lay of  Sir  William  Berkeley." 

"  Tell  me  ;  what  is  his  ground  of  quarrel  ?"  asked  Tem- 
ple." 

"  Why,  simply  that  having  taken  up  arms  against  the 
Indians  without  authority,  and  enraging  them  by  his  in- 
justice and  cruelty,  the  governor  required  him  to  disband 
the  force  he  had  raised.  He  peremptorily  refused,  and  de- 
manded a  commission  from  the  governor  as  general-in-chief 
of  the  forces  of  Virginia  to  prosecute  this  unholy  war." 

"Why  unholy?"  asked  the  Colonel.  "Rebellious  as 
was  his  conduct  in  refusing  to  lay  down  his  arms  at  the 
command  of  the  governor,  yet  I  do  not  see  that  it  should 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          33 

be  deemed  unholy  to  chastise  the  insolence  of  these  sa- 
vages." 

"  I  will  tell  you,  then,"  replied  Bernard.  "  His  avowed 
design  was  to  avenge  the  murder  of  a  poor  herdsman  by  a 
chief  of  the  Doeg  tribe-  Instead  of  visiting  his  vengeance 
upon  the  guilty,  he  turned  hi.s  whole  force  against  the  Sus- 
quehannahs,  a  friendly  tribe  of  Indians,  and  chased  them 
like  sheep  into  one  of  their  forts.  Five  of  the  Indians  re- 
lying on  the  boasted  chivalry  of  the  whites,  came  out  of  the 
fort  unarmed,  to  inquire  the  cause  of  this  unprovoked  at- 
tack. They  were  answered  by  a  charge  of  musketry,  and 
basely  murdered  in  cold  blood." 

"Monstrous  !"  cried  Temple,  with  horror.  "  Such  infi- 
delity will  incense  the  whole  Indian  race  against  us  and 
involve  the  country  in  another  general  war. " 

"Exactly  so,"  returned  Bernard,  "and  such  is  the  go- 
vernor's opinion  ;  but  besides  this,  it  is  suspected,  and  with 
reason  too,  that  this  Indian  war  is  merely  a  pretext  on  the 
part  of  Bacon  and  a  few  of  his  followers,  to  cover  a  deeper 
and  more  criminal  design.  The  insolent  demagogue  prates 
openly  about  equal  rights,  freedom,  oppression  of  the  mother 
country,  and  such  dangerous  themes,  and  it  is  shrewdly 
thought  that,  in  his  wild  dreams  of  liberty,  he  is  taking 
Cromwell  for  his  model.  He  has  all  of  the  villainy  of 
the  old  puritan,  and  a  good  deal  of  his  genius  and  ability. 
But  I  beg  pardon,  ladies,  all  this  politics  cannot  be  very 
palatable  to  a  lady's  taste.  We  will  certainly  expect  you, 
Mrs.  Temple,  to  be  present  at  the  masque  ;  and  if  Miss 
Virginia  would  prefer  not  to  play  her  part  in  the  exhibi- 
tion, she  may  still  be  there  to  cheer  us  with  her  smiles.  I 
can  speak  for  the  taste  of  all  gallant  young  Virginians,  that 
they  will  readily  pardon  her  for  not  concealing  so  fair  a 
face  beneath  a  mask." 

"  Ah,  I  can  easily  see1  that  you  are  but  lately  from  Eng- 
land," said  Mrs.  Temple,  delighted  with  the  gallantry  of 


34  HANSFORD : 

the  young  man.  "  Your  speech,  fair  sir,  savours  far  more 
of  the  manners  of  the  court  than  of  these  untutored  forests. 
Alas  !  it  reminds  me  of  my  own  young  days." 

"Well,  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  the  Colonel,  interrupting  his 
wife  in  a  reminiscence,  which  bid  fair  to  exhaust  no  brief 
time,  "you  will  find  that  we  have  only  transplanted  old 
English  manners  to  another  soil. 

" '  Coelum  non  animum  mutant  qui  trans  mare  currunt.' " 

11 1  am  glad  to  see,"  said  Bernard,  casting  an  admiring 
glance  at  Virginia,  "  that  this  new  soil  you  speak  of,  Colonel 
Temple,  is  so  favourably  adapted  to  the  growth  of  the 
fairest  flowers." 

"  Oh,  you  must  be  jesting,  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  the  old 
lady,  "  for  although  I  am  always  begging  Virginia  to  pay 
more  attention  to  the  garden,  there  are  scarcely  any  flowers 
there  worth  speaking  of,  except  a  few  roses  that  I  planted 
with  my  own  hands,  and  a  bed  of  violets." 

"You  mistake  me,  my  dear  madam,"  returned  Bernard, 
still  gazing  on  Virginia  with  an  affectation  of  rapture,  "  the 
roses  to  which  I  refer  bloom  on  fair  young  cheeks,  and  the 
violets  shed  their  sweetness  in  the  depths  of  those  blue  eyes." 

"  Oh,  you  are  at  your  poetry,  are  you  ?"  said  the  old 
lady. 

"  Not  if  poetry  extends  her  sway  only  over  the  realm  of 
fiction,"  said  Bernard,  laying  his  hand  upon  his  heart. 

"Indeed,  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  Virginia,  not  displeased  at 
flattery,  which  however  gross  it  may  appear  to  modern  ears, 
was  common  with  young  cavaliers  in  former  days,  and  rel- 
ished by  the  fair  damsels,  "  I  have  been  taught  that  flowers 
flourish  far  better  in  the  cultivated  parterre,  than  in  the 
wild  woods.  I  doubt  not  that,  like  Orlando,  you  are  but 
playing  off  upon  a  stranger  the  sentiments,  which,  in  reality, 
you  reserve  for  some  faithful  Rosalind  whom  you  have  left 
in  England." 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          35 

"  You  now  surprise  me,  indeed,"  returned  Bernard,  "  for 
do  you  know  that  among  all  the  ladies  that  grace  English 
society,  there  are  but  few  who  ever  heard  of  Rosalind  or 
her  Orlando,  and  know  as  little  of  the  forest  of  Ardennes  as 
of  your  own  wild  forests  in  Virginia. " 

"I  have  heard,"  said  the  Colonel,  "that  old  Will  Shaks- 
peare  and  his  cotemporaries — peers  he  has  none — have  been 
thrown  aside  for  more  modern  writers,  and  I  fear  that 
England  has  gained  nothing  by  the  exchange.  Who  is  now 
your  prince  of  song  ?" 

"  There  is  a  newly  risen  wit  and  poet,  John  Dryden  by 
name,  who  seems  to  bear  the  palm  undisputed.  Waller  is 
old  now,  and  though  he  still  writes,  yet  he  has  lost  much 
of  his  popularity  by  his  former  defection  from  the  cause  of 
loyalty." 

"  Well,  for  my  part,  give  me  old  wine,  old  friends  and 
old  poets,"  said  the  Colonel.  "  I  confess  I  like  a  bard  to 
be  consecrated  by  the  united  plaudits  of  two  or  three  gene- 
rations, before  I  can  give  him  my  ready  admiration." 

"  I  should  think  your  acquaintance  with  Horace  would 
have  taught  you  the  fallacy  of  that  taste,"  said  Bernard. 
"Do  you  not  remember  how  the  old  Roman  laureate  com- 
plains of  the  same  prejudice  existing  in  his  own  day,  and 
argues  that  on  such  a  principle  merit  could  be  accorded  to 
no  poet,  for  all  must  have  their  admirers  among  cotempo- 
raries, else  their  works  would  pass  into  oblivion,  before 
their  worth  were  fairly  tested  ?" 

"  I  cannot  be  far  wrong  in  the  present  age  at  least,"  said 
Temple,  "from  what  I  learn  and  from  what  I  have  myself 
seen,  the  literature  of  the  present  reign  is  disgraced  by  the 
most  gross  and  libertine  sentiments.  As  the  water  of  a 
healthful  stream  if  dammed  up,  stagnates  and  becomes  the 
fruitful  source  of  unwholesome  malaria,  and  then,  when  re- 
leased, rushes  forward,  spreading  disease  and  death  in  its 
course,  so  the  liberal  feelings  imd  manners  of  old  England, 


36  HANSFOKD: 

restrained  by  the  rigid  puritanism  of  the  Protectorate,  at 
last  burst  forth  in  a  torrent  of  disgusting  and  diseased 
libertinism." 

Bernard  had  not  an  opportunity  of  replying  to  this  ela- 
borate simile  of  the  good  old  Colonel,  which,  like  Fadla- 
deen,  he  had  often  used  and  still  reserved  for  great  oc- 
casions. Further  conversation  was  here  interrupted  by  a 
new  arrival,  which  in  this  case,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  fair  Yirginia,  proved  to  be  the  genuine  Hansford. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

"Speak  of  Mortimer! 

Zounds,  I  will  speak  of  him;  and  let  my  soul 
Want  mercy,  if  I  do  not  join  with  him." 

Henry  IV. 

THOMAS  HANSFORD,  in  appearance  and  demeanour,  lost 
nothing  in  comparison  with  the  accomplished  Bernard.  He 
certainly  did  not  possess  in  so  high  a  degree  the  easy 
assurance  which  characterized  the  young  courtier,  but  his 
self-confidence,  blended  with  a  becoming  modesty,  and  his 
open,  ingenuous  manners,  fully  compensated  for  the  differ- 
ence. There  was  that  in  his  clear  blue  eye  and  pleasant 
smile  which  inspired  confidence  in  all  whom  he  approached. 
Modest  and  unobtrusive  in  his  expressions  of  opinion,  he 
was  nevertheless  firm  in  their  maintenance  when  announced, 
and  though  deferential  to  superiors  in  age  and  position,  and 
respectful  to  all,  he  was  never  servile  or  obsequious. 

The  same  kind  of  difference  might  be  traced  in  the  dress 
of  the  two  young  men,  as  in  their  manners.  'With  none  of 


A   TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  3f 

the  ostentatious  display,  which  we  have  described  as  belong- 
ing to  the  costume  of  Bernard,  the  attire  of  Hansford  was 
plain  and  neat.  He  was  dressed  in  a  grey  doublet  and 
breeches,  trussed  with  black  silk  points.  His  long  hose 
were  of  cotton,  and  his  shoes  were  fastened,  not  with  the 
gay  colored  ribbons  before  described,  but  with  stout  leather 
thongs,  such  as  are  still  often  used  in  the  dress  of  a  country 
gentleman.  His  beaver  was  looped  with  a  plain  black 
button,  in  front,  displaying  his  fair  hair,  which  was  brushed 
plainly  back  from  his  forehead.  He,  too,  wore  a  sword  by 
his  side,  but  it  was  fastened,  not  by  handsome  fringe  and 
sash,  but  by  a  plain  belt  around  his  waist.  It  seemed 
as  though  it  were  worn  more  for  use  than  ornament. 
We  have  been  thus  particular  in  describing  the  dress  of 
these  two  young  men,  because,  as  we  have  hinted,  the  con- 
trast indicated  the  difference  in  their  characters — a  differ- 
ence which  will,  however,  more  strikingly  appear  in  the 
subsequent  pages  of  this  narrative. 

"  Well,  my  boy,"  said  old  Temple,  heartily,  "  I  am  glad 
to  see  you  ;  you  have  been  a  stranger  among  us  lately,  but 
are  none  the  less  welcome  on  that  account.  Yet,  faith,  lad, 
there  was  no  necessity  for  whetting  our  appetite  for  your 
company  by  such  a  long  absence." 

"  I  have  been  detained  on  some  business  of  importance," 
replied  Hansford,  with  some  constraint  in  his  manner.  "I 
am  glad,  however,  my  dear  sir,  that  I  have  not  forfeited 
my  welcome  by  my  delay,  for  no  one,  I  assure  you,  has  had 
more  cause  to  regret  my  absence  than  myself." 

"Better  late  than  never,  my  boy,"  said  the  Colonel. 
11  Corne,  here  is  a  new  acquaintance  of  ours,  to  whom  I 
wish  to  introduce  you.  Mr.  Alfred  Bernard,  Mr.  Hans- 
ford." 

The  young  men  saluted  each  other  respectfully,  and 
Hansford  passed  on  to  "  metal  more  attractive."  Seated 
once  more  by  the  side  of  his  faithful  Virginia,  he  forgot  the 

4 


38  HANSFORD : 

presence  of  all  else,  and  the  two  lovers  were  soon  deep  in 
conversation,  in  a  low  voice. 

"  I  hope  your  absence  was  not  caused  by  your  mother's 
increased  sickness,"  said  Virginia. 

"  No,  dearest,  the  old  lady's  health  is  far  better  than  it 
has  been  for  some  time.  But  I  have  many  things  to  tell 
you  which  will  surprise,  if  they  do  not  please  you." 

"  Oh,  you  have  no  idea  what  a  fright  father  gave  me  this 
evening,"  said  Virginia.  "  He  told  me  that  you  had  pro- 
bably been  engaged  by  the  governor  to  aid  in  suppressing 
this  rebellion.  I  fancied  that  there  were  already  twenty 
bullets  through  your  body,  and  made  a  little  fool  of  myself 
generally.  But  if  I  had  known  that  you  were  staying  away 
from  me  so  long  without  any  good  reason,  I  would  not  have 
been  so  silly,  I  assure  you." 

"  Your  care  for  me,  dear  girl,  is  very  grateful  to  my  feel- 
ings, and  indeed  it  makes  me  very  sad  to  think  that  I  may 
yet  be  the  cause  of  so  much  unhappiness  to  you." 

"  Oh,  come  now,"  said  the  laughing  girl,  "  don't  be  senti- 
mental. You  men  think  very  little  of  ladies,  if  you  sup- 
pose that  we  are  incapable  of  listening  to  anything  but 
flattery.  Now,  there's  Mr.  Bernard  has  been  calling  me 
flowers,  and  roses,  and  violets,  ever  since  he  came.  For 
my  part,  I  would  rather  be  loved  as  a  woman,  than  admired 
as  all  the  flowers  that  grow  in  the  world." 

"  Who  is  this  Mr.  Bernard  ?"  asked  Hansford. 

"  He  is  the  Governor's  private  secretary,  and  a  very  nice 
fellow  he  seems  to  be,  too.  He  has  more  poetry  at  his 
finger's  ends  than  you  or  I  ever  read,  and  he  is  very  hand- 
some, don't  you  think  so  ?" 

"  It  is  very  well  that  I  did  not  prolong  my  absence 
another  day,"  said  Hansford,  "  or  else  I  might  have  found 
my  place  in  your  heart  supplied  by  this  foppish  young 
fribble."* 

*  A  coxcomb,  a,  popinjay. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          39 

"  Nay,  now,  if  you  are  going  to  be  jealous,  I  will  get 
angry,"  said  Virginia,  trying  to  pout  her  pretty  lips.  "  But 
say  what  you  will  about  him,  he  is  very  smart,  and  what's 
more,  he  writes  poetry  as  well  as  quotes  it." 

"  And  has  he  told  you  of  all  his  accomplishments  so 
soon  ?"  said  Hansford,  smiling  ;  "  for  I  hardly  suppose  you 
have  seen  a  volume  of  his  works,  unless  he  brought  it  here 
with  him.  What  else  can  he  do  ?  Perhaps  he  plays  the 
flute,  and  dances  divinely  ;  and  may-be,  but  for  '  the  vile 
guns,  he  might  have  been  a  soldier. '  He  looks  a  good  deal 
like  Hotspur's  dandy  to  my  eyes." 

"  Oh,  don't  be  so  ill-natured,"  said  Virginia,  "  He  never 
would  have  told  about  his  writing  poetry,  but  father 
guessed  it." 

"  Your  father  must  have  infinite  penetration  then,"  said 
Hansford,  "for  I  really  do  not  think  the  young  gentleman 
looks  much  as  though  he  could  tear  himself  from  the  mirror 
long  enough  to  use  his  pen." 

"  Well,  but  he  has  written  a  masque,  to  be  performed 
day-after-to-morrow  night,  at  the  palace,  to  celebrate  Lady 
Frances'  birth-day.  Are  you  not  going  to  the  ball.  Of 
course  you'll  be  invited." 

"  No,  dearest,"  said  Hansford,  with  a  sigh.  "  Sir  Wil- 
liam Berkeley  might  give  me  a  more  unwelcome  welcome 
than  to  a  masque." 

"  What  on  earth  do  you  mean  ?"  said  Virginia,  turning 
pale  with  alarm.  "  You  have  not — " 

"  Nay,  you  shall  know  all  to-morrow,"  replied  Hansford. 

"  Tom,"  cried  Colonel  Temple,  in  his  loud,  merry  voice, 
"  stop  cooing  there,  and  tell  me  where  you  have  been  all 
this  time.  I'll  swear,  boy,  I  thought  you  had  been  helping 
Berkeley  to  put  down  that  d — d  renegade,  Bacon." 

"  I  am  surprised,"  said  Hansford,  with  a  forced,  but 
uneasy  smile,  "  that  you  should  suppose  the  Governor  had 
entrusted  an  affair  of  such  moment  to  me." 


40  HANSFORD I 

"  Zounds,  lad,"  said  the  Colonel,  "  I  never  dreamed  that 
you  were  at  the  head  of  the  expedition.  Oh,  the  vanity  of 
youth  !  No,  I  suppose  my  good  friends,  Colonel  Ludwell 
and  Major  Beverley,  are  entrusted  with  the  lead.  But  I 
thought  a  subordinate  office — " 

"  You  are  mistaken  altogether,  Colonel,"  said  Hansford. 
"  The  business  which  detained  me  from  Windsor  Hall  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  suppression  of  this  rebellion,  and 
indeed  I  have  not  been  in  Jamestown  for  some  weeks." 

"  Well,  keep  your  own  counsel  then,  Tom  ;  but  I  trust  it 
was  at  least  business  connected  with  your  profession.  I 
like  to  see  a  young  lawyer  give  his  undivided  attention  to 
business.  But  I  doubt  me,  Tom,  that  you  cheat  the  law 
out  of  some  of  the  six  hours  that  Lord  Coke  has  allotted 
to  her." 

"  I  have,  indeed,  been  attending  to  the  preparation  of  a 
cause  of  some  importance,"  said  Hansford. 

"  Well,  I'm  glad  of  it,  my  boy.  Who  is  your  client  ?  I 
hope  he  gives  you  a  good  retainer." 

"  My  fee  is  chiefly  contingent,"  replied  the  young  lawyer, 
sorely  pressed  by  the  questions  of  the  carious  old  Colonel. 

"  Why,  you  are  very  laconic,"  returned  Temple,  trying 
to  enlist  him  in  conversation.  "  Come,  tell  me  all  about  it. 
I  used  to  be  something  of  a  lawyer  myself  in  my  youth, 
didn't  I,  Bessy  ?" 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  said  his  wife,  who  was  nearly  dozing  over 
her  eternal  knitting ;  "  and  if  you  had  stuck  to  your  pro- 
fession, and  not  mingled  in  politics,  my  dear,  we  would 
have  been  much  better  off.  You  know  I  always  told 
you  so." 

"I  believe  you  did,  Bessy,"  said  the  Colonel.  "But 
what's  done  can't  be  undone.  Take  example  by  me,  Tom, 
d'ye  hear,  and  never  meddle  in  politics,  my  boy.  But  I 
believe  I  retain  some  cobwebs  of  law  in  my  brain  yet,  and 
I  might  help  you  in  your  case.  Who  is  your  client  ?" 


A   TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  41 

"  The  Colony  is  one  of  the  parties  to  the  cause,"  replied 
Hansford ;  "  but  the  details  cannot  interest  the  ladies,  you 
know ;  I  will  confer  with  you  some  other  time  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  will  be  very  happy  to  have  your  advice. " 

All  this  time,  Alfred  Bernard  had  been  silently  watching 
the  countenance  of  Hansford,  and  the  latter  had  been 
unpleasantly  conscious  of  the  fact.  As  he  made  the  last 
remark,  he  saw  the  keen  eyes  of  Bernard  resting  upon  him 
with  such  an  expression  of  suspicion,  that  he  could  not 
avoid  wincing.  Bernard  had  no  idea  of  losing  the  advan- 
tage which  he  thus  possessed,  and  with  wily  caution  he  pre- 
pared a  snare  for  his  victim,  more  sure  of  success  than  an 
immediate  attack  would  have  been. 

"  I  think  I  have  heard  something  of  the  case,"  he  said, 
fixing  a  penetrating  glance  on  Hansford  as  he  spoke,  "  and 
I  agree  with  Mr.  Hansford,  that  its  details  here  would  not 
be  very  interesting  to  the  ladies.  By  the  way,  Colonel,  your 
conjecture,  that  Mr.  Hansford  was  employed  in  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  rebellion,  reminds  me  of  a  circumstance  that  I 
had  almost  forgotten  to  mention.  You  have  heard  of  that 
fellow  Bacon's  perjury — " 

"  Perjury  !"  exclaimed  the  Colonel.  "  No  !  on  the  con- 
trary I  had  been  given  to  understand  that,  with  all  his  faults, 
his  personal  honour  was  so  far  unstained,  even  with  sus- 
picion." 

"  Such  was  the  general  impression,"  returned  Bernard, 
"  but  it  is  now  proven  that  he  is  as  capable  of  the  greatest 
perfidy  as  of  the  most  daring  treason." 

"  You  probably  refer,  sir,  to  an  affair,"  said  Hansford, 
"  of  which  I  have  some  knowledge,  and  on  which  I  may 
throw  some  light  which  will  be  more  favorable  to  Mr. 
Bacon." 

"  Your  being  able  to  conjecture  so  easily  the  fact  to  which 
I  allude,"  said  Bernard,  "  is  in  itself  an  evidence  that  the 
general  impression  of  his  conduct  is  not  so  erroneous.  I 

4* 


42  HANSFORD : 

am  happy,"  he  added,  with  a  sneer,  "that  in  this  free  coun- 
try, a  rebel  even  can  meet  with  so  disinterested  a  defender." 

"  If  you  refer,  Mr.  Bernard,"  replied  Hansford,  disre- 
garding the  manner  of  Bernard,  "  to  the  alleged  infraction 
of  his  parole,  I  can  certainly  explain  it.  I  know  that 
Colonel  Temple  does  not,  and  I  hope  that  you  do  not,  wish 
deliberately  to  do  any  man  an  injustice,  even  if  he  be  a  foe 
or  a  rebel." 

"  That's  true,  my  boy,"  said  the  generous  old  Temple. 
"  Give  the  devil  his  due,  even  he  is  not  as  black  as  he  is 
painted.  That's  my  maxim.  How  was  it,  Tom  ?  And 
begin  at  the  beginning,  that's  the  only  way  to  straighten  a 
tangled  skein." 

"  Then,  as  I  understand  the  story,"  said  Hansford,  in  a 
slow,  distinct,  voice,  "  it  is  this  : — After  Mr.  Bacon  returned 
to  Henrico  from  his  expedition  against  the  Indians,  he  was 
elected  to  the  House  of  Burgesses.  On  attempting  to  go 
down  the  river  to  Jamestown,  to  take  his  seat,  he  was 
arrested  by  Captain  Gardiner,  on  a  charge  of  treason,  and 
brought  as  a  prisoner  before  Sir  William  Berkeley.  The 
Governor,  expressing  himself  satisfied  with  his  disclaimer 
and  open  recantation  of  any  treasonable  design,  released 
him  from  imprisonment  on  parole,  and,  as  is  reported,  prom- 
ised at  the  same  time  to  grant  him  the  commission  he 
desired.  Mr.  Bacon,  hearing  of  the  sickness  of  his  wife, 
returned  to  Henrico,  and  while  there,  secret  warrants  were 
issued  to  arrest  him  again.  Upon  a  knowledge  of  this  fact 
he  refused  to  surrender  himself  under  his  parole." 

"  You  have  made  a  very  clear  case  of  it,  if  the  facts  be 
true,"  said  Bernard,  in  a  taunting  tone,  "  and  seem  to  be 
well  acquainted  with  the  motives  and  movements  of  the 
traitor.  I  have  no  doubt  there  are  many  among  his  deluded 
followers  who  fail  to  appreciate  the  full  force  of  a  parole 
d'honneur." 

"  Sir  !"  said  Hansford,  his  face  flushing  with  indignation. 


A   TALE   OE    BACON'S   REBELLION.  43 

"  I  only  remarked,"  Lsaid  Bernard,  in  reply,  "that  a  traitor 
to  his  country  knows  but  little  of  the  laws  which  govern 
honourable  men.  My  remark  only  applied  to  traitors,  and 
such  I  conceive  the  followers  and  supporters  of  Nathaniel 
Bacon  to  be." 

Hansford  only  replied  with  a  bow. 

"  And  so  does  Tom,"  said  Temple,  "  and  so  do  we  all, 
Mr.  Bernard.  But  Hansford  knew  Bacon  before  this  late 
movement  of  his,  and  he  is  very  loth  to  hear  his  old  friend 
charged  with  anything  that  he  does  not  deserve.  But  see, 
my  wife  there  is  nodding  over  her  knitting,  and  Jeanie's 
pretty  blue  eyes,  I  know,  begin  to  itch.  Our  motto  is,  Mr. 
Bernard,  to  go  to  bed  with  the  chickens  and  rise  with  the 
lark.  But  we  have  failed  in  the  first  to-night,  and  I  reckon 
we  will  sleep  a  little  later  than  lady  lark  to-morrow.  So, 
to  bed,  to  bed,  my  lord." 

So  saying,  the  hospitable  old  gentleman  called  a  servant 
to  show  the  gentlemen  to  their  separate  apartments. 

"  You  will  be  able  to  sleep  in  an  old  planter's  cabin,  Mr. 
Bernard,"  he  said,  "  where  you  will  find  all  clean  and  coin- 
"ortable,  although  perhaps  a  little  rougher  than  you  are 
accustomed  to.  Tom,  boy,  you  know  the  ways  of  the 
aouse,  and  I  needn't  apologize  to  you.  And  so  pleasant 
Ircams  and  a  good  night  to  you  both." 

After  the  Colonel  ha.d  gone,  and  before  the  servant  had 
appeared,  Hansford  touched  Bernard  lightly  on  the  shoul- 
ler.  The  latter  turned  around  with  some  surprise. 

"You  must  be  aware,  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  Hansford, 
"that  your  language  to-night  remained  unresented  only 
because  of  my  respect  for  the  company  in  which  we  were." 

"  I  did  not  deem  it  of  sufficient  importance,"  replied 
Bernard,  assuming  an  indifferent  tone,  "to  inquire  whether 
your  motives  for  silence  were  respect  for  the  family  or  regard 
for  yourself." 

"  You  now  at  least  know,  sir.     Let  me  ask  you  whether 


44  HANSFORD: 

you  made  the  remark  to  which  I  refer  with  a  full  knowledge 
of  who  I  was,  and  what  were  my  relations  towards  Mr. 
Bacon." 

"  I  decline  making  any  explanation  of  language  which, 
both  in  manner  and  expression,  was  sufficiently  intelligible." 

"  Then,  sir,"  said  Hansford,  resolutely,  "there  is  but  one 
reparation  that  you  can  make,"  and  he  laid  his  hand  signifi- 
cantly on  his  sword. 

"I  understand  you,"  returned  Bernard,  "but  do  not  hold 
myself  responsible  to  a  man  whose  position  in  society  may 
be  more  worthy  of  my  contempt  than  of  my  resentment." 

"  The  company  in  which  you  found  me,  and  the  gentleman 
who  introduced  us,  are  sufficient  guarantees  of  my  position. 
If  under  these  circumstances  you  refuse,  you  take  advantage 
of  a  subterfuge  alike  unworthy  of  a  gentleman  or  a  brave 
man." 

"  Even  this  could  scarcely  avail  you,  since  the  family  are 
not  aware  of  the  treason  by  which  you  have  forfeited  any 
claim  to  their  protection.  But  I  waive  any  such  objection, 
sir,  and  accept  your  challenge. " 

"  Being  better  acquainted  with  the  place  than  yourself," 
said  Hansford,  "I  would  suggest,  sir,  that  there  is  a  little 
grove  in  rear  of  the  barn-yard,  which  is  a  fit  spot  for  our 
purpose.  There  will  there  be  no  danger  of  interruption." 

"As  you  please,  sir,"  replied  Bernard.  "To-morrow 
morning,  then,  at  sunrise,  with  swords,  and  in  the  grove  you 
speak  of." 

The  servant  entered  the  room  at  this  moment,  and  the 
two  young  men  parted  for  the  night,  having  thus  settled  in 
a  few  moments  the  preliminaries  of  a  mortal  combat,  with 
as  much  coolness  as  if  it  had  been  an  agreement  for  a  fox- 
hunt. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  45 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"  'We  try  this  quarrel  hilt  to  hilt.' 
Then  each  at  once  his  falchion  drew, 
Each  on  the  ground  his  scabbard  threw, 
Each  looked  to  sun,  and  stream,  and  plain, 
As  what  they  ne'er  might  see  again  j 
Then  foot,  and  point,  and  eye  opposed, 
In  dubious  strife  they  darkly  closed." 

Lady  of  the  Lake. 

IT  is  a  happy  thing  for  human  nature  that  the  cares,  and 
vexations,  and  fears,  of  this  weary  life,  are  at  least  excluded 
from  the  magic  world  of  sleep.  Exhausted  nature  will  seek 
a  respite  from  her  trials  in  forgetfulness,  and  steeped  in  the 
sacred  stream  of  Lethe,  like  the  young  Achilles,  she 
becomes  invulnerable.  It  is  but  seldom  that  care  dares 
intrude  upon  this  quiet  realm,  and  though  it  may  be  truly 
said  that  sleep  "  swift  on  her  downy  pinions  flies  from  woe," 
yet,  when  at  last  it  does  alight  on  the  lid  sullied  by  a  tear, 
it  rests  as  quietly  as  elsewhere.  We  have  scarcely  ever 
read  of  an  instance  where  the  last  night  of  a  convict  was 
not  passed  in  tranquil  slumber,  as  though  Sleep,  the  sweet 
sister  of  the  dread  Terror,  soothed  more  tenderly,  in  this 
last  hour,  the  victim  of  her  gloomy  brother's  dart. 

Thomas  Hansford,  for  with  him  our  story  remains,  slept 
as  calmly  on  this  night  as  though  a  long  life  of  happiness 
and  fame  stretched  out  before  his  eyes.  'Tis  true,  that  ere 
he  went  to  bed,  as  he  unbelted  his  trusty  sword,  he  looked 
at  its  well-tempered  steel  with  a  confident  eye,  and  thought 
of  the  morrow.  But  so  fully  imbued  were  the  youth  of 
that  iron  age  with  the  true  spirit  of  chivalry,  that  life  was 
but  little  regarded  where  honour  was  concerned,  and  the  pre- 
carious tenure  by  which  life  was  held,  made  it  less  prized 
by  those  who  felt  that  they  might  be  called  on  any  day  to 


46  HANSFORD: 

surrender  it.  Hansford,  therefore,  slept  soundly,  and  the 
first  red  streaks  of  the  morning  twilight  were  smiling 
through  his  window  when  he  awoke.  He  rose,  and  dressing 
himself  hastily,  he  repaired  to  the  study,  where  he  wrote  a 
few  hasty  lines  to  his  mother  and  to  Virginia — the  first  to 
assure  her  of  his  filial  love,  and  to  pray  her  forgiveness  for 
thus  sacrificing  life  for  honour  ;  and  the  second  breathing 
the  warm  ardour  of  his  heart  for  her  who,  during  his  brief 
career,  had  lightened  the  cares  and  shared  the  joys  which 
fortune  had  strewn  in  his  path.  As  he  folded  these  two 
letters  and  placed  them  in  his  pocket,  he  could  not  help 
drawing  a  deep  sigh,  to  think  of  these  two  beings  whose 
fate  was  so  intimately  entwined  with  his  own,  and  whose 
thread  of  life  would  be  weakened  when  his  had  been  sev- 
ered. Repelling  such  a  thought  as  unworthy  a  brave  man 
engaged  in  an  honourable  cause,  he  buckled  on  his  sword 
and  repaired  with  a  firm  step  to  the  place  of  meeting. 
Alfred  Bernard,  true  to  his  word,  was  there, 

And  now  the  sun  was  just  rising  above  the  green  forest, 
to  the  eastward.  The  hands,  as  by  a  striking  metonymy 
those  happy  laborers  were  termed,  who  never  knew  the 
cares  which  environ  the  head,  were  just  going  out  to  their 
day's  work.  Men,  women  and  children,  some  to  plough 
the  corn,  and  one  a  merry  teamster,  who,  with  his  well 
attended  team,  was  driving  to  the  woods  for  fuel.  And  in 
the  barn-yard  were  the  sleek  milch  cows,  smelling  fresh  with 
the  dewy  clover  from  the  meadow,  and  their  hides  smoking 
with  the  early  dew  of  morning  ;  and  the  fowls,  that  strutted 
and  clucked,  and  cackled,  in  the  yard,  all  breakfasting  on 
the  scanty  grains  that  had  fallen  from  the  horse-troughs — 
all  save  one  inquisitive  old  rooster,  who,  flapping  his  wings 
and  mounting  the  fence  to  crow,  eyed  askant  the  two  young 
men,  as  though,  a  knight  himself,  he  guessed  their  bloody 
intent.  And  the  birds,  too,  those  joyous,  happy  beings, 
who  pass  their  life  in  singing,  shook  the  fresh  dew  from 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.  4T 

their  pretty  wings,  cleared  their  throats  in  the  bracing  air, 
and  like  the  pious  Persian,  pouring  forth  their  hymn  of 
praise  to  the  morning  sun,  fluttered  away  to  search  for  their 
daily  food.  All  was  instinct  with  happiness  and  beauty. 
All  were  seeking  to  preserve  the  life  which  God  had  given 
but  two,  and  they  stood  there,  in  the  bright,  dewy  morning, 
to  stain  the  fair  robe  of  nature  with  blood.  It  is  a  sad 
thought,  that  of  all  the  beings  who  rejoice  in  life,  he  alone, 
who  bears  the  image  of  his  Maker,  should  have  wandered 
from  His  law. 

The  men  saluted  one  another  coldly  as  Hansford  ap- 
proached, and  Bernard  said,  with  a  firm  voice,  "  You  see, 
sir,  I  have  kept  my  appointment.  I  believe  nothing 
remains  but  to  proceed." 

"You  must  excuse  me  for  again  sj  chesting,"  said  Hans- 
ford,  "  that  we  wait  a  few  moments,  until  these  labourers 
are  out  of  sight.  We  might  be  interrupted." 

Bernard  silently  acquiesced,  and  the  combatants  stood  at 
a  short  distance  apart,  each  rapt  in  his  own  reflections. 
What  those  reflections  were  may  be  easily  imagined.  Both 
were  young  men  of  talent  and  promise.  The  one,  the 
favourite  of  Sir  William  Berkeley,  saw  fame  and  distinction 
awaiting  him  in  the  colony.  The  other,  the  beloved  of  the 
people,  second  only  to  Bacon  in  their  affections,  and  by  that 
great  leader  esteemed  as  a  friend  and  entrusted  as  a  confi- 
dant, had  scarce  less  hope  in  the  future.  The  one  a  stranger, 
almost  unknown  in  the  colony,  with  little  to  care  for  in  the 
world  but  self;  the  other  the  support  of  an  aged  mother, 
and  the  pride  of  a  fair  and  trusting  girl — the  strong  rock, 
on  whose  protection  the  grey  lichen  of  age  had  rested,  and 
around  which  the  green  tendrils  of  love  entwined.  Both 
men  of  erring  hearts,  who  in  a  few  moments  might  be  sum- 
moned to  appear  at  that  dread  bar,  where  all  the  secrets 
of  their  hearts  are  known,  and  all  the  actions  of  their  lives 
are  judged.  The  two  combatants  were  nearly  equally 


48  HANSFORD 

matched  in  the  use  of  the  sword.  Bernard's  superior  skill 
in  fence  being  fully  compensated  by  the  superior  coolness 
of  his  adversary. 

Just  as  the  last  labourer  had  disappeared,  both  swords 
flashed  in  the  morning  sun.  The  combat  was  long,  and  the 
issue  doubtful.  Each  seemed  so  conscious  of  the  skill  of 
the  other,  that  both  acted  chiefly  on  the  defensive.  But 
the  protracted  length  of  the  fight  turned  to  the  advantage 
of  Hansford,  who,  from  his  early  training  and  hardy  exer- 
cise, was  more  accustomed  to  endure  fatigue.  Bernard 
became  weary  of  a  contest  of  such  little  interest,  and  at 
last,  forgetting  the  science  in  which  he  was  a  complete  adept, 
he  made  a  desperate  lunge  at  the  breast  of  the  young  colo- 
nist. This  thrust  Hansford  parried  with  such  success,  that 
he  sent  the  sword  of  his  adversary  flying  through  the  air. 
In  attempting  to  regain  possession  of  his  sword,  Bernard's 
foot  slipped,  and  he  fell  prostrate  to  the  ground. 

"  Now  yield  you,"  cried  the  victor,  as  he  stood  above  the 
prostrate  form  of  his  antagonist,  "  and  take  back  the  foul 
stain  which  you  have  placed  upon  my  name,  or,  by  my  troth, 
you  had  else  better  commend  yourself  to  Heaven." 

"  I  cannot  choose  but  yield,"  said  Bernard,  rising  slowly 
from  the  ground,  while  his  face  was  purple  with  rage  and 
mortification.  "But  look  ye,  sir  rebel,  if  but  I  had  that 
good  sword  once  more  in  my  hand,  I  would  prove  that  I 
can  yet  maintain  my  honour  and  my  life  against  a  traitor's 
arm.  I  take  my  life  at  your  hands,  but  God  do  so  to  me, 
and  more  also,  if  the  day  do  not  come  when  you  will  wish 
that  you  had  taken  it  while  it  was  in  your  power.  The  life 
y9U  give  me  shall  be  devoted  to  the  one  purpose  of 
revenge." 

"As  you  please,"  said  Hansford,  eyeing  him  with  an 
expression  of  bitter  contempt.  "  Meantime,  as  you  value 
your  life,  dedicated  to  so  unworthy  an  object,  let  me  hear  no 
more  of  your  insolence." 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  49 

"  Nay,  by  my  soul,"  cried  Bernard,  "  I  will  not  bear  your 
taunts.  Draw  and  defend  yourself!"  At  the  same  time, 
with  an  active  spring,  he  regained  possession  of  his  lost 
sword.  But  just  as  they  were  about  to  renew  the  attack, 
there  appeared  upon  the  scene  of  action  a  personage  so 
strange  in  appearance,  and  so  wild  in  dress,  that  Bernard 
dropped  his  weapon  in  surprise,  and  with  a  vacant  stare 
gazed  upon  the  singular  apparition. 

The  figure  was  that  of  a  young  girl,  scarce  twenty  years 
of  age,  whose  dark  copper  complexion,  piercing  black  eyes, 
and  high  cheek  bones,  all  proclaimed  her  to  belong  to  that 
unhappy  race  which  had  so  long  held  undisputed  posses- 
sion of  this  continent.  Her  dress  was  fantastic  in  the 
highest  degree.  Around  her  head  was  a  plait  of  peake, 
made  from  those  shells  which  were  used  by  the  Indians  at 
once  as  their  roanoke,  or  money,  and  as  their  most  highly 
prized  ornament  of  dress.  A  necklace  and  bracelets  of  the 
same  adorned  her  neck  and  arms.  A  short  smock,  made 
of  dressed  deer-skin,  which  reached  only  to  her  knees,  and 
was  tightly  fitted  around  the  waist  with  a  belt  of  wampum, 
but  scantily  concealed  the  swelling  of  her  lovely  bosom. 
Her  legs,  from  the  knee  to  the  ancle,  were  bare,  and  her  feet 
were  covered  with  buckskin  sandals,  ornamented  with  beads, 
such  as  are  yet  seen  in  our  western  country,  as  the  handi- 
work of  the  remnant  of  this  unhappy  race.  Such  a  pic- 
turesque costume  well  became  the  graceful  form  that  wore 
it.  Her  long,  dark  hair,  which,  amid  all  these  decorations, 
was  her  loveliest  ornament,  fell  unbound  over  her  shoulders 
in  rich  profusion.  As  she  approached,  with  light  and  elastic 
step,  towards  the  combatants,  Bernard,  as  we  have  said, 
dropped  his  sword  in  mute  astonishment.  It  is  true,  that 
even  in  his  short  residence  in  Virginia,  he  had  seen  Indians 
at  Jamestown,  but  they  had  come  with  friendly  purpose  to 
ask  favors  of  the  English.  His  impressions  were  therefore 
somewhat  similar  to  those  of  a  man  who,  having  admired 


50  HANSFORD  : 

the  glossy  coat,  and  graceful,  athletic  form  of  a  tiger  in  a 
menagerie,  first  sees  that  fierce  animal  bounding  towards 
him  from  his  Indian  jungle.  The  effect  upon  him,  however, 
was  of  course  but  momentary,  and  he  again  raised  his  sword 
to  renew  the  attack.  But  his  opponent,  without  any  desire 
of  engaging  again  in  the  contest,  turned  to  the  young  girl 
and  said,  in  a  familiar  voice,  "  Well,  Mamalis,  what  brings 
you  to  the  hall  so  early  this  morning  ?" 

"  There  is  danger  there,"  replied  the  young  girl,  solemnly, 
and  in  purer  English  than  Bernard  was  prepared  to  hear. 
"  If  you  would  help  me,  put  up  your  long  knife  and  follow 
me." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?"  asked  Hansford,  alarmed  by  her 
manner  and  words. 

"  Manteo  and  his  braves  come  to  take  blood  for  blood," 
returned  the  girl.  "  There  is  no  time  to  lose." 

"In  God's  name,  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  Hansford,  quickly, 
"come  along  with  us.  This  is  no  time  for  private  quarrel. 
Our  swords  are  destined  for  another  use." 

"Most  willingly,"  replied  Bernard;  "our  enmity  will 
scarcely  cool  by  delay.  And  mark  me,  young  man,  Alfred 
Bernard  will  never  rest  until  he  avenges  the  triumph  of 
your  sword  this  morning,  or  the  foul  blot  which  you  have 
placed  upon  his  name.  But  let  that  pass  now.  Can  this 
creature's  statement  be  relied  on  ?" 

"  She  is  as  true  as  Heaven,"  whispered  Hansford.  "  Come 
on,  for  we  have  indeed  but  little  time  to  lose ;  at  another 
time  I  will  afford  you  ample  opportunity  to  redeem  your 
honour  or  to  avenge  yourself.  You  will  not  find  my  blood 
cooler  by  delay."  And  so  the  three  walked  on  rapidly 
towards  the  house,  the  two  young  men  side  by  side,  after 
having  sworn  eternal  hostility  to  one  another,  but  yet  wil- 
ling to  forget  their  private  feud  in  the  more  important  duties 
before  them. 

The  reader  of  the  history  of  this  interesting  period,  will 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.  51 

remember  that  there  were,  at  this  time,  many  causes  of  dis- 
content prevailing  among  the  Indians  of  Virginia.  As  has 
been  before  remarked,  the  murder  of  a  herdsman,  Robert 
Hen  by  name,  and  other  incidents  of  a  similar  character, 
were  so  terribly  avenged  by  the  incensed  colonists,  not  only 
upon  the  guilty,  but  upon  friendly  tribes,  that  the  discontent 
of  the  Indians  was  wide  spread  and  nearly  universal.  Nor 
did  it  cease  until  the  final  suppression  of  the  Indian 
power  by  Nathaniel  Bacon,  at  the  battle  of  Bloody  Run. 
This,  however,  was  but  the  immediate  cause  of  hostilities, 
for  which  there  had  already  been,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Indians,  sufficient  provocation.  Many  obnoxious  laws  had 
been  passed  by  the  Assembly,  in  regard  to  the  savages,  that 
were  so  galling  to  their  independence,  that  the  seeds  of  dis- 
cord and  enmity  were  already  widely  sown.  Among  these 
were  the  laws  prohibiting  the  trade  in  guns  and  ammunition 
with  the  Indians  ;  requiring  the  warriors  of  the  peaceful 
tribes  to  wear  badges  in  order  that  they  might  be  recog- 
nized ;  restricting  them  in  their  trade  to  particular  marts  ; 
and,  above  all,  providing  that  the  Werowance,  or  chief  of 
a  tribe,  should  hold  his  position  by  the  appointment  of  the 
Governor,  and  not  by  the  choice  of  his  braves.  This  last 
provision,  which  struck  at  the  very  independence  of  the 
tribes,  was  so  offensive,  -that  peaceable  relations  with  the 
Indians  could  not  long  be  maintained.  Add  to  this  the 
fact,  which  for  its  inhumanity  is  scarcely  credible,  that  the 
English  at  Monados,  now  the  island  of  New  York,  had, 
with  a  view  of  controlling  the  monopoly  of  the  trade  in  furs 
and  skins,  inspired  the  Indians  with  a  bitter  hostility  toward 
the  Virginians,  and  it  will  easily  be  seen  that  the  magazine 
of  discontent  needed  but  a  spark  to  explode  in  open  hos- 
tility. 

So  much  is  necessary  to  be  premised  in  order  that  the 
reader  may  understand  the  relations  which  existed,  at  this 
period,  between  the  colonists  and  the  Indians  around  them. 


52  HANSFOHD : 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

"  And  in,  the  buskined  hunters  of  the  deer, 
To  Albert's  home  with  shout  and  cymbal  throng." 

Campbell. 

THE  surprise  and  horror  with  which  the  intelligence  of 
this  impending  attack  was  received  by  the  family  at  Wind- 
sor Hall  may  be  better  imagined  than  described.  Manteo, 
the  leader  of  the  party,  a  young  Indian  of  the  Pamunkey 
tribe,  was  well  known  to  them  all.  With  his  sister,  the 
young  girl  whom  we  have  described,  he  lived  quietly  in  his 
little  wigwam,  a  few  miles  from  the  hall,  and  in  his  inter- 
course with  the  family  had  been  friendly  and  even  affec- 
tionate. But  with  all  this,  he  was  still  ardently  devoted  to 
his  race,  and  thirsting  for  fame  ;  and  stung  by  what  he  con- 
ceived tho  injustice  of  the  whites,  he  had  leagued  himself 
in  an  enterprise,  which,  regardless  of  favour  or  friendship, 
was  dictated  by  revenge. 

It  was,  alas  !  too  late  to  hope  for  escape  from  the  hall, 
or  to  send  to  the  neighboring  plantations  for  assistance ; 
and,  to  add  to  their  perplexity,  the  whole  force  of  the  farm, 
white  servants  and  black,  had  gone  to  a  distant  field,  where 
it  was  scarcely  possible  that  they  could  hear  of  the  attack 
until  it  was  too  late  to  contribute  their  aid  in  the  defence. 
But  with  courage  and  resolution  the  gentlemen  prepared  to 
make  such  defence  or  resistance  as  was  in  their  power,  and, 
indeed,  from  the  unsettled  character  of  the  times,  a  plan- 
ter's house  was  no  mean  fortification  against  the  attacks  of 
the  Indians.  Early  in  the  history  of  the  colony,  it  was 
found  necessary,  for  the  general  safety,  to  enact  laws 
requiring  each  planter  to  provide  suitable  means  of  defence, 


A   TALE   OF    BACON'S    REBELLION.  53 

in  case  of  any  sudden  assault  by  the  hostile  tribes.  Accord- 
ingly, the  doors  to  these  country  mansions  were  made  of 
the  strongest  material,  and  in  some  cases,  and  such  was  the 
case  at  Windsor  Hall,  were  lined  on  the  interior  by  a  thick 
sheet  of  iron.  The  windows,  too,  or  such  as  were  low 
enough  to  be  scaled  from  the  ground,  were  protected  by 
shutters  of  similar  material.  Every  planter  had  several 
guns,  and  a  sufficient  store  of  ammunition  for  defence. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Windsor  Hall,  protected  by  three 
vigorous  men,  well  armed  and  stout  of  heart,  was  no  con- 
temptible fortress  against  the  rude  attacks  of  a  few  savages, 
whose  number  in  all  probability  would  not  exceed  twenty. 
The  greatest  apprehension  was  from  fire ;  but,  strange  to 
say,  the  savages  but  seldom  resorted  to  this  mode  of  ven- 
geance, except  when  wrought  up  to  the  highest  state  of 
excitement.* 

"At  any  rate,"  said  the  brave  old  Colonel,  "we  will 
remain  where  we  are  until  threatened  with  fire,  and  then 
at  least  avenge  our  lives  with  the  blood  of  these  infamous 
wretches. " 

The  doors  and  lower  windows  had  been  barricaded,  and 
the  three  men,  armed  to  the  teeth,  stood  ready  in  the  hall 
for  the  impending  attack.  Virginia  and  her  mother  were 
there,  the  former  pale  as  ashes,  but  suppressing  her  emotions 
with  a  violent  effort  in  order  to  contribute  to  her  mother's 
comfort.  In  fact,  the  old  lady,  notwithstanding  her  boast 
of  bravery  on  the  evening  before,  stood  in  need  of  all  the 
consolation  that  her  daughter  could  impart.  She  vented 
her  feelings  in  screams  as  loud  as  those  of  the  Indians  she 
feared,  and  refused  to  be  comforted.  Virginia,  forgetful 

*  This  fact,  which  I  find  mentioned  by  several  historians,  is  explained 
by  Kercheval,  in  his  history  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  by  the  supposition 
that  the  Indians  for  a  long  time  entertained  the  hope  of  reconquering  the 
country,  and  saved  property  from  destruction  which  might  be  of  use  to 
them  in  the  future.  See  page  90  of  Valley  of  Va. 

5* 


54  HANSEORD  : 

of  her  own  equal  danger,  leant  tenderly  over  her  mother, 
who  had  thrown  herself  upon  a  sofa,  and  whispered  those 
sweet  words  of  consolation,  which  religion  can  alone  sug- 
gest in  the  hour  of  our  trial : 

"Mother,  dear  mother,"  she  said,  "remember  that 
although  earthly  strength  should  fail,  we  are  yet  in  the 
hands  of  One  who  is  mighty." 

"  Well,  and  what  if  we  are,"  cried  her  mother,  whose 
faith  was  like  that  of  the  old  lady,  who,  when  the  horses 
ran  away  with  her  carriage,  trusted  in  Providence  till  the 
breeching  broke.  "  Well,  and  what  if  we  are,  if  in  a  few 
minutes  our  scalps  may  be  taken  by  these  horrible  savages  ?" 

"  But,  dear  mother,  He  has  promised — " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know  whether  he  has  or  not — but  as  sure 
as  fate  there  they  come,"  and  the  old  lady  relapsed  into  her 
hysterics. 

"  Mother,  mother,  remember  your  duty  as  a  Christian — 
remember  in  whom  you  have  put  your  trust,"  said  Virginia, 
earnestly. 

"  Oh,  yes,  that's  the  way.  Of  course  I  know  nothing 
of  my  duty,  and  I  don't  pretend  to  be  as  good  as  others. 
I  am  nothing  but  a  poor,  weak  old  woman,  and  must  be 
reminded  of  my  duty  by  my  daughter,  although  I  was  a 
Christian  long  before  she  was  born.  But,  for  rny  part,  I 
think  it's  tempting  Providence  to  bear  such  a  judgment  with 
so  much  indifference." 

"But,  Bessy,"  interposed  the  Colonel,  seeing  Virginia 
was  silent  under  this  unusual  kind  of  argument,  "  your 
agitation  will  only  make  the  matter  worse.  If  yon  give 
way  thus,  we  cannot  be  as  ready  and  cool  in  action  as  we 
should.  Come  now,  dear  Bessy,  calm  yourself." 

"  Oh,  yes,  it's  well  to  say  that,  after  bringing  me  all  the 
way  into  this  wild  country,  to  be  devoured  by  these  wild 
Indians.  Oh,  that  I  should  ever  have  consented  to  leave 
my  quiet  home  in  dear  old  England  for  this  !  And  all  be- 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  55 

cause  a  protector  reigned  instead  of  a  king.  Protector, 
forsooth  ;  I  would  rather  have  a  hundred  protectors  at  this 
moment  than  one  king." 

"  Father,"  said  Virginia,  in  a  tremulous  voice,  "  had  we 
not  better  retire  to  some  other  part  of  the  house  ?  We  can 
only  incommode  you  here." 

"  Right,  my  girl,"  said  her  father.  "  Take  your  mother 
up  stairs  into  your  room,  and  try  and  compose  her." 

"  Take  me,  indeed,"  said  his  worthy  spouse.  "  Colonel 
Temple,  you  speak  as  if  I  was  a  baby,  to  be  carried  about  as 
you  choose.  I  assure  you,  I  will  not  budge  a  foot  from  you." 

"  Stay  where  you  are  then, "replied  Temple,  impatiently, 
"and  for  God's  sake  be  calm.  Ha!  now  my  boys — here 
they  come !"  and  a  wild  yell,  which  seemed  to  crack  the  very 
welkin,  announced  the  appearance  of  the  enemy. 

"  I  think  we  had  all  better  go  to  the  upper  windows," 
said  Hansford,  calmly.  "  There  is  nothing  to  be  done  by 
being  shut  up  in  this  dark  hall ;  while  there,  protected  from 
their  arrows,  we  may  do  some  damage  to  the  enemy.  If  we 
remain,  our  only  chance  is  to  make  a  desperate  sally,  in 
which  we  would  be  almost  certainly  destroyed." 

"Mr.  Hansford,"  said  Virginia,  "  give  me  a  gun — there 
is  one  left — and  you  shall  see  that  a  young  girl,  in  an  hour 
of  peril  like  this,  knows  how  to  aid  brave  men  in  her  own 
defence." 

Hansford  bent  an  admiring  glance  upon  the  heroic  girl, 
as  he  placed  the  weapon  in  her  hands,  while  her  father  said, 
with  rapture,  "  God  bless  you,  my  daughter.  If  your  arm 
were  strong  as  your  heart  is  brave,  you  had  been  a  hero. 
I  retract  what  I  said  on  yesterday,"  he  added  in  a  whisper, 
with  a  sad  smile,  "  for  you  have  this  day  proved  yourself 
worthy  to  be  a  brave  man's  wife." 

The  suggestion  of  Hansford  was  readily  agreed  upon, 
and  the  little  party  were  soon  at  their  posts,  shielded  by  the 
windows  from  the  attack  of  the  Indians,  and  yet  in  a  posi- 


56  HANSFORD : 

tion  from  which  they  could  annoy  the  enemy  considerably 
by  their  own  fire.  From  his  shelter  there,  Bernard,  to 
whom  the  sight  was  entirely  new,  could  see  rushing  towards 
the  hall,  a  party  of  about  twenty  savages,  painted  in  the 
horrible  manner  which  they  adopt  to  inspire  terror  in  a  foe, 
and  attired  in  that  strange  wild  costume,  which  is  now 
familiar  to  every  school-boy.  Their  leader,  a  tall,  athletic 
young  Indian,  surpassed  them  all  in  the  hideousness  of  his 
appearance.  His  closely  shaven  hair  was  adorned  with  a 
tall  eagle's  feather,  and  pendant  from  his  ears  were  the 
rattles  of  the  rattlesnake.  The  only  garment  which  con- 
cealed his  nakedness  was  a  short  smock,  or  apron,  reaching 
from  his  waist  nearly  to  his  knees,  and  made  of  dressed  deer 
skin,  adorned  with  beads  and  shells.  Around  his  neck  and 
wrists  were  strings  of  peake  and  roanoke.  His  face  was 
painted  in  the  most  horrible  manner,  with  a  ground  of  deep 
red,  formed  from  the  dye  of  the  pocone  root,  and  varie- 
gated with  streaks  of  blue,  yellow  and  green.  Around  his 
eyes  were  large  circles  of  green  paint.  But  to  make  his 
appearance  still  more  hideous,  feathers  and  hair  were  stuck 
all  over  his  body,  upon  the  fresh  paint,  which  made  the  war- 
rior look  far  more  like  some  wild  beast  of  the  forest  than  a 
human  being. 

Brandishing  a  tomahawk  in  one  hand,  and  holding  a  car- 
bine in  the  other,  Manteo,  thus  disguised,  led  on  his  braves 
with  loud  yells  towards  the  mansion  of  Colonel  Temple. 
How  different  from  the  respectful  demeanour,  and  more 
modest  attire,  in  which  he  was  accustomed  to  appear  before 
the  family  of  Windsor  Hall. 

To  the  great  comfort  of  the.inmates,  his  carbine  was  the 
only  one  in  the  party,  thanks  to  the  wise  precaution  of  the 
Assembly,  in  restricting  the  sale  of  such  deadly  weapons  to 
the  Indians.  His  followers,  arrayed  in  like  horrible  cos- 
tume with  himself,  followed  on  with  their  tomahawks  and 
bows  ;  their  arrows  were  secured  in  a  quiver  slung  over  the 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  57 

shoulder,  which  was  formed  of  the  skins  of  foxes  and  rac- 
coons, rendered  more  terrible  by  the  head  of  the  animal 
being  left  unsevered  from  the  skin.  To  the  loud  shrieks  and 
yells  of  their  voices,  was  added  the  unearthly  sound  of  their 
drums  and  rattles — the  whole  together  forming  a  discordant 
medley,  which,  as  brave  old  John  Smith  has  well  and 
quaintly  observed,  "  would  rather  affright  than  delight  any 
man." 

All  this  the  besieged  inmates  of  the  hall  saw  with  mingled 
feelings  of  astonishment  and  dread,  awaiting  with  intense 
anxiety  the  result. 

"  Now  be  perfectly  quiet,"  said  Hansford,  in  a  low  tone, 
for,  by  tacit  consent,  he  was  looked  upon  as  the  leader  of 
the  defence.  "  The  house  being  closed,  they  may  conclude 
that  the  family  are  absent,  and  so,  after  their  first  burst 
of  vengeance,  retire.  Their  bark  is  always  worse  than  their 
bite." 

Such  indeed  seemed  likely  to  be  the  case,  for  the  Indians, 
arrived  at  the  porch,  looked  around  with  some  surprise  at 
the  barred  doors  and  windows,  and  began  to  confer 
together.  Whatever  might  have  been  the  event  of  their 
conference,  their  actions,  however,  were  materially  affected 
by  an  incident  which,  though  intended  for  the  best,  was 
well  nigh  resulting  in  destruction  to  the  whole  family. 


58  HANSFORD : 


CHAPTER    IX. 

"  Like  gun  when  aimed  at  duck  or  plover, 
Kicks  back  and  knocks  the  shooter  over." 

THERE  was  at  Windsor  Hall,  an  old  family  servant, 
known  alike  to  the  negroes  and  the  "white  folks,"  by  the 
familiar  appellation  of  Uncle  Giles.  He  was  one  of  those 
old-fashioned  negroes,  who  having  borne  the  heat  and  burden 
of  the  day,  are  turned  out  to  live  in  comparative  freedom, 
and  supplied  with  everything  that  can  make  their  declining 
years  comfortable  and  happy.  Uncle  Giles,  according  to 
his  own  account,  was  sixty-four  last  Whitsuntide,  and  was 
consequently  born  in  Africa.  It  is  a  singular  fact  con- 
nected with  this  race,  that  whenever  consulted  about  their 
age,  they  invariably  date  the  anniversary  of  their  birth  at 
Christmas,  Easter  or  Whitsuntide,  the  triennial  holydays  to 
which  they  are  entitled.  Whether  this  arises  from  the  fact 
that  a  life  which  is  devoted  to  the  service  of  others  should 
commence  with  a  holyday,  or  whether  these  three  are  the  only 
epochs  known  to  the  negro,  is  a  question  of  some  interest, 
but  of  little  importance  to  our  narrative.  So  it  was,  that 
old  uncle  Giles,  in  his  own  expressive  phrase  was,  "  after 
wiking  all  his  born  days,  done  turn  out  to  graze  hissclf  to 
def."  The  only  business  of  the  old  man  was  to  keep  him- 
self comfortable  in  winter  by  the  kitchen  fire,  and  in  summer 
to  smoke  his  old  corn-cob  pipe  on  the  three  legged  bench 
that  stood  at  the  kitchen  door.  Added  to  this,  was  the 
self-assumed  duty  of  "  strapping"  the  young  darkies,  and 
lecturing  the  old  ones  on  the  importance  of  working  hard, 
and  obeying  "  old  massa,"  cheerfully  in  everything.  And 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          59 

so  old  uncle  Giles,  with  white  and  black,  with  old  and 
young,  but  especially  with  old  uncle  Giles  himself,  was  a 
great  character.  Among  other  things  that  increased  his 
inordinate  self-esteem,  was  the  possession  of  a  rusty  old 
blunderbuss,  which,  long  since  discarded  as  useless  by  his 
master,  had  fallen  into  his  hands,  and  was  regarded  by  him 
and  his  sable  admirers  as  a  pearl  of  great  price. 

Now  it  so  happened,  that  on  the  morning  to  which  our 
story  refers,  uncle  Giles  was  quietly  smoking  his  pipe,  and 
muttering  solemnly  to  himself  in  that  grumbling  tone  so 
peculiar  to  old  negroes.  When  he  learned,  however,  of  the 
intended  attack  of  the  Indians,  the  old  man,  who  well 
remembered  the  earlier  skirmishes  with  the  savages,  took 
his  old  blunderbuss  from  its  resting-place  above  the  door  of 
the  kitchen,  and  prepared  himself  for  action.  The  old  gun, 
which  owing  to  the  growing  infirmities  of  its  possessor,  had 
not  been  called  into  use  for  years,  was  now  rusted  from 
disuse  and  neglect ;  and  a  bold  spider  had  even  dared  to 
seek,  not  the  bubble  reputation,  but  his  more  substantial 
gossamer  palace,  at  the  very  mouth  of  the  barrel.  Not- 
withstanding all  this,  the  gun  had  all  the  time  remained 
loaded,  for  Giles  was  too  rigid  an  economist  to  waste  a 
charge  without  some  good  reason.  Armed  with  this  for- 
midable weapon,  Giles  succeeded  in  climbing  up  the  side 
of  the  low  cabin  kitchen,  by  the  logs  which  protruded  from 
either  end  of  the  wall.  Arrived  at  the  top  and  screening 
himself  behind  the  rude  log  and  mud  chimney,  he  awaited 
with  a  patience  and  immobility  which  Wellington  might 
have  envied,  the  arrival  of  the  foe.  Here  then  he  was 
quietly  seated  when  the  conference  to  which  we  have 
alluded  took  place  between  the  Indian  warriors. 

"Bird  flown,"  said  Manteo,  the  leader  of  the  party, 
"Nest  empty." 

Two  or  three  of  the  braves  stooped  down  and  began  to 
examine  the  soft  sandy  soil  to  discover  if  there  were  any 


60  HANSFORD : 

tracks  or  signs  of  the  family  having  left.  Fortunately  the 
search  seemed  satisfactory,  for  the  foot-prints  of  Bernard's 
and  Hansford's  horses,  as  they  were  led  from  the  house 
towards  the  stable  on  the  previous  evening,  were  still  quite 
visible. 

This  little  circumstance  seemed  to  determine  the  party, 
and  they  had  turned  away,  probably  to  seek  their  vengeance 
elsewhere,  or  to  return  at  a  more  propitious  moment,  when 
the  discharge  of  a  gun  was  heard,  so  loud,  so  crashing,  and 
so  alarming,  that  it  seemed  like  the  sudden  rattling  of 
thunder  in  a  storm. 

Luckily,  perhaps  for  all  parties,  while  the  shot  fell 
through  the  poplar  trees  like  the  first  big  drops  of  rain  in 
summer,  the  only  damage  which  was  done  was  in  clipping 
off  the  feather  which  was  worn  by  Manteo  as  a  badge  of 
his  position.  When  we  say  this,  however,  we  mean  to 
refer  only  to  the  effect  of  the  charge,  not  of  the  discharge 
of  the  gun,  for  the  breech  rebounding  violently  against  old 
Giles  shoulder,  the  poor  fellow  lost  his  balance  and  came 
tumbling  to  the  ground.  The  cabin  was  fortunately  not 
more  than  ten  feet  high,  and  our  African  hero  escaped  into 
the  kitchen  with  a  few  bruises — a  happy  compromise  for  the 
fate  which  would  have  inevitably  been  his  had  he  remained 
in  his  former  position.  The  smoke  of  his  fusil  mingling 
with  the  smoke  from  the  chimney,  averted  suspicion,  and  with 
the  simple-minded  creatures  who  heard  the  report  and  wit- 
nessed its  effects  the  whole  matter  remained  a  mystery. 

"  Tunder,"  said  one,  looking  round  in  vain  for  the  source 
from  which  an  attack  could  be  made. 

"  Call  dat  tunder,"  growled  Manteo,  pointing  signifi- 
cantly to  his  moulted  plume  that  lay  on  the  ground. 

"  Okees*  mad.  Shoot  Pawcussacksf  from  osies,"J  said 
one  of  the  older  and  more  experienced  of  the  party, 

*  Gods.  f  Guns.  J  Heaven. 


A   TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION,  61 

endeavouring  to  give  some  rational  explanation  of  so 
inexplicable  a  mystery. 

A  violent  dispute  here  arose  between  the  different  war- 
riors as  to  the  cause  of  this  sudden  anger  of  the  gods ;  some 
contending  that  it  was  because  they  were  attacking  a 
Netoppew  or  friend,  and  others  with  equal  zeal  'contending 
that  it  was  to  reprove  the  slowness  of  their  vengeance. 

From  their  position  above,  all  these  proceedings  could 
be  seen,  and  these  contentions  heard  by  the  besieged  party. 
The  mixed  language  in  which  the  men  spoke,  for  they  had 
even  thus  early  appropriated  many  English  words  to  supply 
the  deficiencies  in  their  own  barren  tongue,  was  explained 
by  Mamalis,  where  it  was  unintelligible  to  the  whites. 
This  young  girl  felt  a  divided  interest  in  the  fate  of  the 
besieging  and  besieged  parties  ;  for  all  of  her  devotion  to 
Virginia  Temple  could  not  make  her  entirely  forget  the 
fortunes  of  her  brave  brother. 

In  a  few  moments,  she  saw  that  it  was  necessary  to  take 
some  decisive  step,  for  the  faction  which  was  of  harsher 
mood,  and  urged  immediate  vengeance,  was  seen  to  prevail 
in  the  conference.  The  fatal  word  "  fire"  was  several 
times  heard,  and  Mautco  was  already  starting  towards  the 
kitchen  to  procure  the  means  of  carrying  into  effect  their 
deadly  purpose. 

"I  see  nothing  left,  but  to  defend  ourselves  as  we  may," 
said  Hansford  in  a  low  voice,  at  the  same  time  raising  his 
musket,  and  advancing  a  step  towards  the  window,  with  a 
view  of  throwing  it  open  and  commencing  the  attack. 

"  Oh,  don't  shoot,"  said  Mamalis,  imploringly,  "  I  will  go 
and  save  all." 

"  Do  you  think,  my  poor  girl,  that  they  will  hearken  to 
mercy  at  your  intercession,"  said  Colonel  Temple,  shaking 
his  head,  sorrowfully." 

"No  I"  replied  Mamalis,  "  the  heart  of  a  brave  knows  not 
mercy.  If  he  gave  his  ear  to  the  cry  of  mercy,  he  would 

6 


62  HANSFOED  I 

be  a  squaw  and  not  a  brave.  But  fear  not,  I  can  yet  save 
you,"  she  added  confidently,  "only  do  not  be  seen." 

The  men  looked  from  one  to  the  other  to  decide. 

"  Trust  her,  father,"  said  Virginia,  "  if  you  are  discovered 
blood  must  be  shed.  She  says  she  can  save  us  all.  Trust 
her,  Hansford.  Trust  her,  Mr.  Bernard." 

"  We  could  lose  little  by  being  betrayed  at  this  stage  of 
the  game,"  said  Temple,  "  so  go,  my  good  girl,  and  Heaven 
will  bless  you  1" 

Quick  as  thought  the  young  Indian  left  the  room,  and 
descended  the  stairs.  Drawing  the  bolt  of  the  back  door 
so  softly,  that  she  scarcely  heard  it  move,  herself,  she  went 
to  the  kitchen,  where  old  Giles,  a  prey  to  a  thousand  fears, 
was  seated  trembling  over  the  fire,  his  face  of  that  peculiar 
ashy  hue,  which  the  negro  complexion  sometimes  assumes 
as  an  humble  apology  for  pallor.  As  she  touched  the  old 
man  on  the  shoulder,  he  groaned  in  despair  and  looked  up, 
showing  scarcely  anything  but  the  whites  of  his  eyes,  while 
his  woolly  head,  thinned  and  white  with  age,  resembled  ashes 
sprinkled  over  a  bed  of  extinguished  charcoal.  Seeing  the 
face  of  an  Indian,  and  too  terrified  to  recognize  Mamalis, 
he  fell  on  his  knees  at  her  feet,  and  cried, 

"Oh,  for  de  Lord  sake,  massa,  pity  de  poor  old  nigger  1 
My  lod  a  messy,  massa,  I  neber  shoot  anudder  gun  in  all 
my  born  days." 

"Hush,"  said  Mamalis,  "and  listen  to  me.  I  tell  lie, 
you  say  it  is  truth  ;  I  say  whites  in  Jamestown ;  you  say 
so  too — went  yesterday." 

"But  bress  your  soul,  missis,"  said  Giles,  "  sposen  dey  ax 
me  ef  I  shot  dat  cussed  gun,  me  say  dat  truf  too  ?" 

"  No,  say  it  was  thunder." 

At  this  moment  the  tall  dark  form  of  Manteo  entered 
the  room.  He  started  with  surprise,  as  he  saw  his  sister 
there,  and  in  such  company.  His  dark  eye  darted  a  fierce 
glance  at  Giles,  who  quailed  beneath  its  glare.  Then 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          63 

turning  again  to  his  sister,  he  said  in  the  Indian  tongue, 
which  we  freely  translate: 

"  Mamalis  with  the  white  man  !  where  is  he  that  I  may 
drown  my  vengeance  in  his  blood." 

"  He  is  gone  ;  he  is  not  within  the  power  of  Manteo. 
Manitou*  has  saved  Manteo  from  the  crime  of  killing  his 
best  friend." 

"  His  people  have  killed  my  people  for  the  offence  of  the 
few,  I  will  kill  him  for  the  cruelty  of  many.  For  this  is 
the  calumetf  broken.  For  this  is  the  tree  of  peacej  cut 
down  by  the  tomahawk  of  war." 

"  Say  not  so,"  replied  Mamalis.  "  Temple  is  the  netop- 
pew§  of  Manteo.  He  is  even  now  gone  to  the  grand 
sachem  of  the  long  knives,  to  make  Manteo  the  Werowance|| 
of  the  Pamunkeys." 

"  Ha  !  is  this  true  ?"  asked  Manteo,  anxiously. 

"  Ask  this  old  man,"  returned  Mamalis.  "  They  all  went 
to  Jamestown  yesterday,  did  they  not  ?"  she  asked  in  Eng- 
lish of  Giles,  who  replied,  in  a  trembling  voice, 

"  Yes,  my  massa,  dey  has  all  gone  to  Jimson  on  yestiddy. " 

"  And  I  a  Werowance  !"  said  the  young  man  proudly,  in 
his  own  language.  "  Spirits  of  Powhatan  and  Opechan- 
canough,  the  name  of  Manteo  shall  live  immortally  as 
yours.  His  glory  shall  be  the  song  of  our  race,  and  the 
young  men  of  his  tribe  shall  emulate  his  deeds.  His  life 
shall  be  brilliant  as  the  sun's  bright  course,  and  his  spirit 
shall  set  in  the  spirit  land,  bright  with  unfading  glory." 

Then  turning  away  with  a  lofty  step,  he  proceeded  to 
rejoin  his  companions. 


*  The  good  spirit  of  the  Indians.  -f-  The  pipe  of  peace. 

J  When  a  peace  was  concluded  a  tree  was  planted,  and  the  contracting 
parties  declared  that  the  peace  should  be  as  long  lived  as  the  tree. 

$  The  friend  or  benefactor. 

||  The  Werowance,  or  chief  of  a  tribe,  was  appointed  by  the  Governor, 
and  this  mode  of  appointment  gave  great  dissatisfaction  to  the  Indians. 


64  HANSFORD : 

The  stratagem  was  successful,  and  Manteo,  the  bravest^ 
the  noblest  of  the  braves,  succeeded  after  some  time  in  per- 
suading them  to  desist  from  their  destructive  designs.  In 
a  few  moments,  to  the  delight  of  the  little  besieged  party, 
the  Indians  had  left  the  house,  and  were  soon  buried  in  the 
deep  forest. 

"  Thanks,  my  brave,  generous  girl,"  said  Temple,  as 
Mamalis,  after  the  success  of  her  adventure,  entered  the 
room.  "  To  your  presence  of  mind  we  owe  our  lives." 

"  But  I  told  a  lie,"  said  the  girl,  looking  down  ;  "  I  said 
you  had  gone  to  make  Manteo  the  Werowance  of  the 
Pamunkeys." 

"  Well,  my  girl,  he  shall  not  want  my  aid  in  getting  the 
office.  So  you,  in  effect,  told  the  truth." 

"  No,  no  ;  I  said  you  had  gone.     It  was  a  lie." 

"  Ah,  but,  Mamalis,"  said  Virginia,  in  an  encouraging 
voice,  for  she  had  often  impressed  upon  the  mind  of  the 
poor  savage  girl  the  nature  of  a  lie,  "  when  a  falsehood  is 
told  for  the  preservation  of  life,  the  sin  will  be  freely  for- 
given which  has  accomplished  so  much  good." 

"Ignatius  Loyola  could  not  have  stated  his  favourite  prin- 
ciple more  clearly,  Miss  Temple,"  said  Bernard,  with  a 
satirical  smile.  "  I  see  that  the  Reformation  has  not  made 
so  wide  a  difference  in  the  two  Churches,  after  all." 

"  No,  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  old  Temple,  somewhat  offended 
at  the  young  man's  tone ;  "  the  stratagem  of  the  soldier, 
and  the  intrigue  of  the  treacherous  Jesuit,  are  very  different. 
The  one  is  the  means  which  brave  men  may  use  to  accom- 
plish noble  ends ;  the  other  is  the  wily  machinations  of  a 
perfidious  man  to  attain  his  own  base  purposes.  The  one 
is  the  skilful  fence  and  foil  of  the  swordsman,  the  other  the 
subtle  and  deceitful  design  of  the  sneaking  snake." 

"  Still  they  both  do  what  is  plainly  a  deception,  in  order 
to  accomplish  an  end  which  they  each  believe  to  be  good. 
Once  break  down  the  barrier  to  the  field  of  truth,  and  it  is 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.  65 

impossible  any  longer  to  distinguish  between  virtue  and 


error. 


"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Temple,  "  I  am  the  last  to  blame  the 
bridge  which  carries  me  over,  and  I'll  warrant  there  is  not 
one  here,  man  or  woman,  who  isn't  glad  that  our  lives  have 
been  saved  by  Mamalis's  falsehood — for  I  have  not  had  such 
a  fright  in  all  my  days." 


CHAPTER    X. 

"  Religion,  'tis  that  doth  distinguish  us 
From  their  bruit  humour,  well  we  may  it  know, 
That  can  with  understanding  argue  thus, 
Our  God  is  truth,  but  they  cannot  do  so." 

Smith's  History. 

As  may  be  well  imagined,  the  Indian  attack  formed  the 
chief  topic  of  conversation  at  Windsor  Hall  during  the 
day.  Many  were  the  marvellous  stones  which  were  called 
to  memory,  of  Indian  warfare  and  of  Indian  massacres — of 
the  sad  fate  of  those  who  had  been  their  victims,  the  tortures 
to  which  their  prisoners  had  been  subjected,  and  the  relent- 
less cruelty  with  which  even  the  tender  babe,  while  smiling 
in  the  face  of  its  ruthless  murderer,  was  dashed  pitilessly 
against  a  tree.  Among  these  narratives,  the  most  painful 
was  that  detailing  the  fate  of  George  Cassen,  who,  tied  to 
a  tree  by  strong  cords,  was  doomed  to  see  his  flesh  and 
joints  cut  off,  one  by  one,  and  roasted  before  his  eyes ;  his 
head  and  face  flayed  with  sharp  mussel  shells,  and  his  belly 
ripped  open  ;  until  at  last,  in  the  extremity  of  his  agony,  he 

6* 


66  HANSFORD : 

welcomed  the  very  flames  which  consumed  him,  and  rescued 
his  body  from  their  cruelty.* 

Uncle  Giles,  whose  premature  action  had  so  nearly  ruined 
them  all,  and  yet  had  probably  been  the  cause  of  their  ulti- 
mate safety,  was  the  hero  of  the  day,  and  loud  was  the 
laugh  at  the  incident  of  the  gun  and  kitchen  chimney.  The 
old  man's  bruises  were  soon  tended  and  healed,  and  the 
grateful  creature  declared  that  "  Miss  Ginny's  lineaments 
always  did  him  more  good  than  all  the  doctors  in  the 
world  ;"  and  in  truth  they  were  good  for  sore  eyes. 

It  was  during  the  morning's  conversation  that  Bernard 
learned  from  his  host,  and  from  Virginia,  the  intimate  rela- 
tions existing  between  Mamalis  and  the  family  at  Windsor 
Hall.  Many  years  before,  there  had  been,  about  two  miles 
from  the  hall,  an  Indian  village,  inhabited  by  some  of  the 
tribe  of  the  Pamunkeys.  Among  them  was  an  old  chieftain 
named  Nantaquaus,f  who  claimed  to  be  of  the  same  lineage 
as  Powhatan,  and  who,  worn  out  with  war,  now  resided 
among  his  people  as  their  patriarchal  counsellor.  In  the 
hostilities  which  had  existed  before  the  long  peace,  which 
was  only  ended  by  the  difficulties  that  gave  rise  to  Bacon's 
Rebellion,  the  whole  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  little  village 
had  been  cut  off  by  the  whites,  with  the  exception  of  this 
old  patriarch  and  his  two  orphan  grand-children,  who  were 
saved  through  the  interposition  of  Colonel  Temple,  exerted 
in  their  behalf  on  account  of  some  kindness  he  had  received 
at  their  hands.  Grateful  for  the  life  of  his  little  descendants, 
for  he  had  long  since  ceased  to  care  for  the  prolongation  of 
his  own  existence,  old  Nantaquaus  continued  to  live  on 
terms  approaching  even  to  intimacy  with  the  Temples. 
When  at  length  he  died,  he  bequeathed  his  grand-children 

*  Fact. 

f  This  was  also  the  name  of  the  only  son  of  the  great  Powhatan,  as 
appears  by  John  Smith's  letter  to  the  Queen,  introducing  the  Princess 
Pocahontas. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          6t 

to  the  care  of  his  protector.  It  was  his  wish,  however,  that 
they  should  still  remain  in  the  old  wigwam  where  he  had 
lived,  and  where  they  could  best  remember  him,  "and,  in 
visions,  visit  his  spirit  in  the  far  hunting  ground.  In  com- 
pliance with  this,  his  last  wish,  Manteo  and  Mamalis  con- 
tinued their  residence  in  that  rude  old  hut,  and*secured  a 
comfortable  subsistence— he  by  fishing  and  the  chase,  and 
she  by  the  cultivation  of  their  little  patch  of  ground,  where 
maize,  melons,  pompions,  cushaus,  and  the  like,  rewarded 
her  patient  labour  with  their  abundant  growth.  Besides 
these  duties,  to  which  the  life  of  the  Indian  woman  was 
devoted,  the  young  girl  in  her  leisure  moments,  and  in  the 
long  winter,  made,  with  pretty  skill,  mats,  baskets  and  san- 
dals, weaving  the  former  curiously  with  the  long  willow 
twigs  which  grew  along  the  banks  of  the  neighbouring  York 
river,  and  forming  the  latter  with  dressed  deer  skin,  orna- 
mented with  flowers  made  of  beads  and  shells,  or  with  the 
various  coloured  feathers  of  the  birds.  Her  little  manu- 
factures met  with  a  ready  sale  at  the  hall,  being  exchanged 
for  sugar  and  coffee,  and  other  such  comforts  as  civilization 
provides ;  and  for  the  sale  of  the  excess  of  these  simple 
articles  over  the  home  demand,  she  found  a  willing  agent 
in  the  Colonel,  who,  in  his  frequent  visits  to  Jamestown, 
disposed  of  them  to  advantage. 

Despite  these  associations,  however,  Manteo  retained 
much  of  the  original  character  of  his  race,  and  the  wild 
forest  life  which  he  led,  bringing  him  into  communication 
with  the  less  civilized  members  of  his  tribe,  helped  to  cherish 
the  native  fierceness  of  his  temper.  Clinging  with  tenacity 
to  the  superstitions  and  pursuits  of  his  fathers,  his  mind 
was  of  that  sterile  soil,  in  which  the  seeds  of  civilization 
take  but  little  root.  His  sister,  without  having  herself  lost 
all  the  peculiar  features  of  her  natural  character,  was  still 
formed  in  a  different  mould,  and  her  softer  nature  had 
already  received  some  slight  impress  from  Virginia's  teach- 


68  HANSFORD : 

ings,  which  led  her  by  slow  but  certain  degrees  towards  the 
truth.  His  was  of  that  fierce,  tiger  nature,  which  Horace 
has  so  finely  painted  in  his  nervous  description  of  Achilles, 

"  Impiger,  iracundus,  inexorabilis,  acer !" 

While  her's  can  be  best  understood  by  her  name,  Mamalis, 
which,  signifying  in  her  own  language  a  young  fawn,  at  once 
expressed  the  grace  of  her  person  and  the  gentleness  of  her 
nature. 

Such  is  a  brief  but  sufficient  description  of  the  characters 
and  condition  of  these  two  young  Indians,  who  play  an 
important  part  in  this  narrative.  The  description,  we  may 
well  suppose,  derived  additional  interest  to  Bernard,  from 
its  association  with  the  recent  exciting  scene,  and  from  the 
interest  which  his  heart  began  already  to  entertain  for  the 
fair  narrator. 

But  probably  the  most  amusing,  if  not  the  most  instruc- 
tive portion  of  the  morning's  conversation,  was  that  in 
which  Mrs.  Temple  bore  a  conspicuous  part.  The  danger 
being  past,  the  good  woman  adverted  with  much  pride  to 
the  calmness  and  fortitude  which  she  had  displayed  during 
the  latter  part  of  the  trying  scene.  She  never  suspected 
that  her  conduct  had  been  at  all  open  to  criticism,  for  in 
the  excess  of  her  agitation,  she  had  not  been  aware,  either 
of  her  manner  or  her  language. 

"  The  fact  is,  gentlemen,"  she  said,  "that  while  you  all 
displayed  great  coolness  and  resolution,  it  was  well  that 
you  were  not  surrounded  by  timid  women  to  embarrass  you 
with  their  fears.  I  was  determined  that  none  of  you  should 
see  my  alarm,  and  I  have  no  doubt  you  were  surprised  at 
my  calmness." 

"  It  was  very  natural  for  ladies  to  feel  alarm,"  said 
Hansford,  scarcely  able  to  repress  the  rising  smile,  "  under 
circumstances,  which  inspired  even  strong  men  with  fear. 
I  only  wonder  that  you  bore  it  so  well. " 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  69 

"Ah,  it  is  easy  to  sec  you  are  apologizing  for  Virginia, 
and  I  must  confess  that  once  or  twice  she  did  almost  shake 
my  self-possession  a  little  by  her  agitation.  But  poor 
thing  !  we  should  make  allowance  for  her.  She  is  unac- 
customed to  such  scenes.  I,  who  was,  you  may  say, 
cradled  in  a  revolution,  and  brought  up  in  civil  war,  am 
not  so  easily  frightened." 

"  No,  indeed,  Bessy,"  said  old  Temple,  smiling  good 
humouredly,  "  so  entirely  were  you  free  from  the  prevailing 
fears,  that  I  believe  you  were  unconscious  half  the  time  of 
what  was  going  on." 

''Well,  really,  Colonel  Temple,"  said  the  old  lady, 
bristling  up  at  this  insinuation,  "  I  think  it  ill  becomes  you 
to  be  exposing  me  as  a  jest  before  an  entire  stranger. 
However,  it  makes  but  little  difference.  It  won't  last 
always. " 

This  prediction  of  his  good  wife,  that  "  It,"  which  always 
referred  to  her  husband's  conduct  immediately  before,  was 
doomed  like  all  other  earthly  things  to  terminate,  was 
generally  a  precursor  to  hysterics.  And  so  she  shook  her 
head  and  patted  her  foot  hysterically,  while  the  Colonel 
wholly  unconscious  of  any  reasonable  cause  for  the  offence 
he  had  given,  rolled  up  his  eyes  and  shrugged  his  shoulders 
in  silence. 

Leaving  the  good  couple  to  settle  at  their  leisure  those 
little  disputes  which  never  lasted  on  an  average  more  than 
five  minutes,  let  us  follow  Virginia  as  she  goes  down  stairs 
to  make  some  preparation  for  dinner.  As  she  passed 
through  the  hall  on  her  way  to  the  store-room,  she  saw  the 
graceful  form  of  Mamalis  just  leaving  the  house.  In  the 
conversation  which  ensued  we  must  beg  the  reader  to 
imagine  the  broken  English  in  which  the  young  Indian 
expressed  herself,  while  we  endeavor  to  give  it  a  free  and 
more  polite  translation. 


70  HANSFORD : 

"  Mamalis,  you  are  not  going  home  already,  are  you," 
said  Virginia,  in  a  gentle  voice. 

"Yes,"  replied  the  girl,  with  a  sigh. 

"  Why  do  you  sigh,  Mamalis  ?  Are  you  unhappy,  my 
poor  girl  ?" 

"  It  is  very  sad  to  be  alone  in  my  poor  wigwam,"  she 
replied. 

"  Then  stay  with  us,  Manteo  is  away,  and  will  probably 
not  be  back  for  some  days." 

"  He  would  be  angry  if  he  came  home  and  found  me 
away. " 

"  Oh,  my  poor  girl,"  said  Virginia,  taking  her  tenderly 
by  the  hand,  "  I  wish  you  could  stay  with  me,  and  let  me 
teach  you  as  I  used  to  about  God  and  heaven.  Oh,  think 
of  these  things,  Mamalis,  and  they  will  make  you  happy 
even  when  alone.  Wouldn't  you  like  to  have  a  friend 
always  near  you  when  Manteo  is  away  ?" 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  the  girl  earnestly. 

"  Well,  there  is  just  such  a  Friend  who  will  never  desert 
you ;  who  is  ever  near  to  protect  you  in  danger,  and  to 
comfort  you  in  distress.  Whose  eye  is  never  closed  in 
sleep,  and  whose  thoughts  are  never  wandering  from  his 
charge." 

"That  cannot  be,"  said  the  young  Indian,  incredulously. 

"  Yes,  it  both  can  be  and  is  so,"  returned  her  friend. 
"  One  who  has  promised,  that  if  we  trust  in  him  he  will 
never  leave  us  nor  forsake  us.  That  friend  is  the  powerful 
Son  of  God,  and  the  loving  Brother  of  simple  man.  One 
who  died  to  show  his  love,  and  who  lives  to  show  his 
power  to  protect.  It  is  Jesus  Christ." 

"You  told  me  about  him  long  ago,"  said  Mamalis, 
shaking  her  head,  "  but  I  never  saw  him.  He  never  comes 
to  Manteo's  wigwam." 

"  Nay,  but  He  is  still  your  friend,"  urged  Virginia  ear- 
nestly. "When  you  left  the  room  this  morning  on  that 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          71 

work  of  mercy  to  save  us  all,  I  did  not  see  you,  and  yet  I 
told  my  father  that  I  knew  you  would  do  us  good.  Were 
you  less  my  friend  because  I  didn't  see  you  ? 

"No." 

"JX~o,"  continued  Yirginia,  "you  were  more  my  friend, 
for  if  you  had  remained  with  me,  we  might  all  have  been 
lost.  And  so  Jesus  has  but  withdrawn  Himself  from  our 
eyes  that  He  may  intercede  with  his  offended  father,  as  you 
did  with  Manteo." 

"  Does  he  tell  lies  for  us  ?"  said  the  girl  with  artless  sim- 
plicity, and  still  remembering  her  interview  with  her 
brother.  Virginia  felt  a  thrill  of  horror  pass  through  her 
heart  as  she  heard  such  language,  but  remembering  the 
ignorance  of  her  poor  blinded  pupil,  she  proceeded. 

"  Oh  !  Mamalis,  do  not  talk  thus.  He  of  whom  I  speak 
is  not  as  we  are,  and  cannot  commit  a  sin.  But  while  He 
cannot  commit  sin  Himself,  He  can  die  for  the  sins  of 
others." 

"  Well,"  said  the  poor  girl,  seeing  that  she  had  unwit- 
tingly hurt  the  feelings  of  her  friend,  "  I  don't  understand 
all  that.  Your  God  is  so  high,  mine  I  can  see  and  under- 
stand. But  you  love  your  God,  I  only  fear  mine." 

"  And  do  you  not  believe  that  God  is  good,  my  poor 
friend  ?"  said  Yirginia,  with  a  sigh. 

"  From  Manitou  all  good  proceeds,"  replied  Mamalis,  as 
with  beautiful  simplicity  she  thus  detailed  her  simple  creed, 
which  she  had  been  taught  by  her  fathers.  "  From  him  is 
life,  and  joy,  and  love.  The  blue  sky  is  his  home,  and  the 
green  earth  he  has  made  for  his  pleasure.  The  fresh 
smelling  flowers  and  the  pure  air  are  his  breath,  and  the 
sweet  music  of  the  wind  through  the  woods  is  his  voice. 
The  stars  that  he  has  sown  through  heaven,  are  the  pure 
shells  which  he  has  picked  up  by  the  rivers  which  flow 
through  the  spirit  land  ;  and  the  sun  is  his  chariot,  with 
which  he  drives  through  heaven,  while  he  smiles  upon  the 


72  HANSFORD I 

world.     Such  is  Manitou,  whose  very  life   is  the  good 
giving;  the  bliss-bestowing." 

"  My  sweet  Mamalis,"  said  Yirginia,  "  you  have,  indeed, 
in  your  ignorance,  painted  a  beautiful  picture  of  the  benefi- 
cence of  God.  And  can  you  not — do  you  not  thank  this 
Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift  for  all  his  mercies." 

"  I  cannot  thank  him  for  that  which  he  must  bestow," 
said  the  girl.  "  We  do  not  thank  the  flower  because  its 
scent  is  sweet ;  nor  the  birds  that  fill  the  woods  with  their 
songs,  because  their  music  is  grateful  to  the  ear.  Manitou 
is  made  to  be  adored,  not  to  be  thanked,  for  his  very 
essence  is  good,  and  his  very  breath  is  love." 

"  But  remember,  my  friend,  that  the  voice  of  this  Great 
Spirit  is  heard  in  the  thunder,  as  well  as  in  the  breeze,  and 
his  face  is  revealed  in  the  lightning  as  well  as  in  the  flower. 
He  is  the  author  of  evil  as  well  as  of  good,  and  should  we 
not  pray  that  He  would  avert  the  first,  even  if  He  heed  not 
our  prayer  to  bestow  the  last." 

If  Virginia  was  shocked  by  the  sentiments  of  her  pupil 
before,  Mamalis  was  now  as  much  so.  Such  an  idea  as 
ascribing  evil  to  the  great  Spirit  of  the  Universe,  never 
entered  the  mind  of  the  young  savage,  and  now  that  she 
first  heard  it,  she  looked  upon  it  as  little  less  than  open 
profanity. 

"  Manitou  is  not  heard  in  the  thunder  nor  seen  in  the 
lightning,"  she  replied.  "  It  is  Okee  whose  fury  against 
us  is  aroused,  and  who  thus  turns  blessings  into  curses, 
and  good  into  evil.  To  him  we  pray  that  he  look  not 
upon  us  with  a  frown,  nor  withhold  the  mercies  that  flow 
from  Manitou ;  that  the  rains  may  fall  upon  our  maize,  and 
the  sun  may  ripen  it  in  the  full  ear ;  that  he  send  the  fat 
wild  deer  across  my  brother's  path,  and  ride  on  his  arrow 
until  it  reach  its  heart ;  that  he  direct  the  grand  council  in 
wisdom,  and  guide  the  tomahawk  in  its  aim  in  battle.  But 
I  have  tarried  too  long,  my  brother  may  await  my  coming." 


A   TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  73 

"  Nay,  but  you  shall  not  go — at  least,"  said  Virginia, 
"  without  something  for  your  trouble.  You  have  nearly 
lost  a  day,  already.  And  come  often  and  see  me,  Mamalis, 
and  we  will  speak  of  these  things  again.  I  will  teach  you 
that  your  Manitou  is  good,  as  well  as  the  author  of  good  ; 
and  that  he  is  love,  as  well  as  the  fountain  of  love  in  others  ; 
that  it  is  to  him  we  should  pray  and  in  whom  we  should 
trust,  and  he  will  lead  us  safely  through  all  our  trials  in 
this  life,  and  take  us  to  a  purer  spirit  land  than  that  of 
which  you  dream." 

Mamalis  shook  her  head,  but  promised  she  would  come. 
Then  loading  her  With  such  things  as  she  thought  she 
stood  in  need  of,  and  which  the  poor  girl  but  seldom  met 
with,  except  from  the  same  kind  hand,  Virginia  bid  her 
God  speed,  and  they  parted;  Mamalis  to  her  desolate 
wigwam,  and  Virginia  to  her  labours  in  the  household 
affairs,  which  had  devolved  upon  her.* 

*  In  the  foregoing  scene  the  language  of  Mamalis  has  been  purposely 
rendered  more  pure  than  as  it  fell  from  her  lips,  because  thus  it  was  better 
suited  to  the  dignity  of  her  theme.  As  for  the  creed  itself,  it  is  taken 
from  so  many  sources,  that  it  would  be  impossible,  even  if  desirable,  to 
quote  any  authorities.  The  statements  of  Smith  and  Beverley,  are,  how- 
ever, chiefly  relied  upon. 


t4  HANSFORD: 


CHAPTER    XL 

"  And  will  you  rend  our  ancient  love  asunder, 
And  join  with  men  in  scorning  your  poor  friend." 

Midsummer  Nightfs  Dream. 

WHILE  Virginia  was  thus  engaged,  she  was  surprised  by 
hearing  a  light  step  behind  her,  and  looking  up  she  saw 
Hansford  pale  and  agitated,  standing  in  the  room. 

"  What  in  the  world  is  the  matter  ?"  she  cried,  alarmed 
at  his  appearance  ;  "  have  the  Indians — " 

"  No,  dearest,  the  Indians  are  far  away  ere  this.  But 
alas  !  there  are  other  enemies  to  our  peace  than  they." 

"What  do  you  mean  ?"  she  said,  "  speak  !  why  do  you 
thus  agitate  me  by  withholding  what  you  would  say." 

"My  dear  Virginia,"  replied  her  lover,  "do  you  not 
remember  that  I  told  you  last  night  that  I  had  something 
to  communicate,  which  would  surprise  and  grieve  you.  I 
cannot  expect  you  to  understand  or  appreciate  fully  my 
motives.  But  you  can  at  least  hear  me  patiently,  and  by 
the  memory  of  our  love,  by  the  sacred  seal  of  our  plighted 
troth,  I  beg  you  to  hear  me  with  indulgence,  if  not  for- 
giveness." 

"  There  are  but  few  things,  Hansford,  that  you  could 
do,"  said  Virginia,  gravely,  "  that  love  would  not  teach  me 
to  forgive.  Go  on.  I  hear  you  patiently." 

"My  story  will  be  brief,"  said  Hansford,  "although  it 
may  involve  sad  consequences  to  me.  I  need  only  say,  that 
I  have  felt  the  oppressions  of  the  government,  under  which 
the  colony  is  groaning  ;  I  have  witnessed  the  duplicity  and 
perfidy  of  Sir  William  Berkeley,  and  I  have  determined 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          75 

with  the  arm  and  heart  of  a  man,  to  maintain  the  rights 
of  a  man." 

"  What  oppressions,  what  perfidy,  what  rights,  do  you 
mean  ?"  said  Virginia,  turning  pale  with  apprehension. 

"  You  can  scarcely  understand  those  questions  dearest. 
But  do  you  not  know  that  the  temporizing  policy,  the 
criminal  delay  of  Berkeley,  has  already  made  the  blood  of 
Englishmen  flow  by  the  hand  of  savages.  Even  the  agony 
which  you  this  morning  suffered,  is  due  to  the  indirect 
encouragement  given  to  the  Indians  by  his  fatal  in- 
dulgence." 

"And  you  have  proved  false  to  your  country,"  cried 
Virginia.  "  Oh  1  Hansford,  for  the  sake  of  your  honour, 
for  the  sake  of  your  love,  unsay  the  word  which  stains  your 
soul  with  treason." 

"  Nay,  my  own  Virginia,  understand  me.  I  may  be  a 
rebel  to  my  king.  I  may  almost  sacrifice  my  love,  but  I 
am  true,  ever  true  to  my  country.  The  day  has  passed, 
Virginia,  when  that  word  was  so  restricted  in  its  meaning 
as  to  be  confounded  with  the  erring  mortal,  who  should  be 
its  minister  and  not  its  tyrant.  The  blood  of  Charles  the 
First  has  mingled  with  the  blood  of  those  brave  martyrs 
who  perished  for  liberty,  and  has  thus  cemented  the  true 
union  between  a  prince  and  his  people.  It  has  given  to 
the  world,  that  useful  lesson,  that  the  sovereign  is  invested 
with  his  power,  to  protect,  and  not  to  destroy  the  rights 
of  his  people  ;  that  freemen  may  be  restrained  by  whole- 
some laws,  but  that  they  are  freemen  still.  That  lesson, 
Sir  William  Berkeley  must  yet  be  taught.  The  patriot  who 
dares  to  teach  him,  is  at  last,  the  truest  lover  of  his 
country." 

"I  scarcely  know  what  you  say,"  said  the  young  girl, 
weeping,  "  but  tell  me,  oh,  tell  me,  have  you  joined  your 
fortunes  with  a  rebel  ?" 

"If  thus  you  choose  to  term  him  who  loves  freedom 


76  HANSFORD: 

better  than  chains,  who  would  rather  sacrifice  life  itself 
than  to  drag  out  a  weary  existence  beneath  the  galling 
yoke  of  oppression,  I  have.  I  know  you  blame  me.  I 
know  you  hate  me  now,"  he  added,  in  a  sad  voice,  "  but 
while  it  was  my  duty,  as  a  freeman  and  a  patriot,  to  act 
thus,  it  was  also  my  duty,  as  an  honourable  man,  to  tell 
you  all.  You  remember  the  last  lines  of  our  favourite 
song, 

"  I  had  not  loved  thee  dear,  so  much, 
Loved  I  not  honour  more." 

"Alas!  I  remember  the  words  but  too  well,"  replied 
Virginia,  sadly,  "  but  I  had  been  taught  that  the  honour 
there  spoken  of,  was  loyalty  to  a  king,  not  treason.  Oh, 
Hansford,  forgive  me,  but  how  can  I,  reared  as  I  have 
been,  with  such  a  father,  how  can  I" — she  hesitated,  unable 
to  complete  the  fatal  sentence. 

"I  understand  you,"  said  Hansford.  "But  one  thing 
then  remains  undone.  The  proscribed  rebel  must  be  an 
outlaw  to  Virginia  Temple's  heart.  The  trial  is  a  sore 
one,  but  even  this  sacrifice  can  I  make  to  my  beloved 
country.  Thus  then  I  give  you  back  your  troth.  Take 
it — take  it,"  he  cried,  and  with  one  hand  covering  his  eyes, 
he  seemed  with  the  other  to  tear  from  his  heart  some  trea- 
sured jewel  that  refused  to  yield  its  place. 

The  violence  of  his  manner,  even  more  than  the  fatal 
words  he  had  spoken,  alarmed  Virginia,  and  with  a  wild 
scream,  that  rang  through  the  old  hall,  she  threw  herself 
fainting  upon  his  neck.  The  noise  reached  the  ears  of  the 
party,  who  remained  above  stairs,  and  Colonel  Temple,  his 
wife,  and  Bernard,  threw  open  the  door  and  stood  for  a 
moment  silent  spectators  of  the  solemn  scene.  There  stood 
Hansford,  his  eye  lit  up  with  excitement,  his  face  white  as 
ashes,  and  his  strong  arm  supporting  the  trembling  form 
of  the  young  girl,  while  with  his  other  hand  he  was  chafing 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  77 

her  white  temples,  and  smoothing  back  the  long  golden 
tresses  that  had  fallen  dishevelled  over  her  face. 

"  My  child,  my  child,"  shrieked  her  mother,  who  was  the 
first  to  speak,  "  what  on  earth  is  the  matter  ?" 

"  Yes,  Hansford,  in  the  devil's  name,  what  is  to  pay  ?" 
said  the  old  colonel.  "  Why,  Jeanie,"  he  added,  taking 
the  fair  girl  tenderly  in  his  arms,  "you  are  not  half  the 
heroine  you  were  when  the  Indians  were  here.  There 
now,  that's  a  sweet  girl,  open  your  blue  eyes  and  tell  old 
father  what  is  the  matter." 

"Nothing,  dear  father,"  said  Yirginia,  faintly,  as  she 
slowly  opened  her  eyes.  "  I  have  been  very  foolish, 
that's  all." 

"Nay,  Jeanie,  it  takes  more  than  nothing  or  folly  to 
steal  the  bloom  away  from  these  rosy  cheeks." 

"  Perhaps  the  young  gentleman  can  explain  more  easily," 
said  Bernard,  fixing  his  keen  eyes  on  his  rival.  "  A  little 
struggle,  perhaps,  between  love  and  loyalty." 

"  Mr.  Bernard,  with  all  his  shrewdness,  would  probably 
profit  by  the  reflection,"  said  Hansford,  coldly,  "  that  as  a 
stranger  here,  his  opinions  upon  a  matter  of  purely  family 
concern,  are  both  unwelcome  and  impertinent." 

"May  be  so,"  replied  Bernard  with  a  sneer;  "but 
scarcely  more  unwelcome  than  the  gross  and  continued 
deception  practised  by  yourself  towards  those  who  have 
honoured  you  with  their  confidence." 

Hansford,  stung  by  the  remark,  laid  his  hand  upon  his 
sword,  but  was  withheld  by  Colonel  Temple,  who  cried  out 
with  impatience, 

"  Why,  what  the  devil  do  you  mean  ?  Zounds,  it  seems 
to  me  that  my  house  is  bewitched  to-day.  First  those 
cursed  Indians,  with  their  infernal  yells,  threatening  death 
and  destruction  to  all  and  sundry ;  then  my  daughter  here, 
playing  the  fool  before  my  face,  according  to  her  own  con- 
fession ;  and  lastly,  a  couple  of  forward  boys  picking  a 

7* 


78  HANSFORD  : 

quarrel  witli  one  another  after  a  few  hours'  acquaintance. 
Damn  it,  Tom,  you  were  wont  to  have  a  plain  tongue  in 
your  head.  Tell  me,  what  is  the  matter  ?" 

"My  kind  old  friend,"  said  Hansford,  with  a  tremulous 
voice,  "  I  would  fain  have  reserved  for  your  private  ear,  an 
explanation  which  is  now  rendered  necessary  by  that  inso- 
lent minion,  whose  impertinence  had  already  received  the 
chastisement  it  deserves,  but  for  an  unfortunate  interrup- 
tion." 

"Nay,  Tom,"  said  the  Colonel,  "no  harsh  words. 
Remember  this  young  man  is  my  guest,  and  as  such,  enti- 
tled to  respect  from  all  under  my  roof." 

"  Well  then,  sir,"  continued  Hansford,  "  this  young 
lady's  agitation  was  caused  by  the  fact  that  I  have  lately 
pursued  a  course,  which,  while  I  believe  it  to  be  just  and 
honourable,  I  fear  will  meet  with  but  little  favour  in  your 
eyes." 

"  As  much  in  the  dark  as  ever,"  said  the  Colonel,  per- 
plexed beyond  measure,  for  his  esteem  for  Hansford  pre- 
vented him  from  suspecting  the  true  cause  of  his  daughter's 
disquiet.  Damn  it,  man,  Davus  sum  non  (Edipus.  Speak 
out  plainly,  and  if  your  conduct  has  been,  as  you  say,  con- 
sistent with  your  honour,  trust  to  an  old  friend  to  forgive 
you.  Zounds,  boy,  I  have  been  young  myself,  and  can. 
make  allowance  for  the  waywardness  of  youth.  Been 
gaming  a  little  too  high,  hey ;  well,  the  rest*  was  not  so 
low  in  my  day,  but  that  I  can  excuse  that,  if  you  didn't 
'pull  down  the  side.'"f 

"  I  would  fain  do  the  young  man  a  service,  for  I  bear 
him  no  ill-will,  though  he  has  treated  me  a  little  harshly," 
said  Bernard,  as  he  saw  Hansford  silently  endeavouring  to 
frame  a  reply  in  the  most  favourable  terms,  "  I  see  he  is 

*  Rest  was  the  prescribed  limit  to  the  size  of  the  venture. 
f  To  pull  down  the  side  was  a  technical  term  with  our  ancestors  for 
cheating.  ,•»  ,. 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.  79 

ashamed  of  his  cause,  and  well  he  may  be ;  for  you  must 
know  that  he  has  become  a  great  man  of  late,  and  has 
linked  his  fate  to  a  certain  Nathaniel  Bacon." 

The  old  loyalist  started  as  he  heard  this  unexpected 
announcement,  then  with  a  deep  sigh,  which  seemed  to 
come  from  his  very  soul,  he  turned  to  Hansford  and  said, 
"  My  boy,  deny  the  foul  charge  ;  say  it  is  not  so." 

"  It  is,  indeed,  true,"  replied  Hansford,  mournfully,  "  but 
when — " 

"  But  when  the  devil  I"  cried  the  old  man,  bursting  into 
a  fit  of  rage ;  "  and  you  expect  me  to  stand  here  and  listen 
to  your  justification.  Zounds,  sir,  I  would  feel  like  a  traitor 
myself  to  hear  you  speak.  And  this  is  the  serpent  that  I 
have  warmed  and  cherished  at  my  hearthstone.  Out  of  my 
house,  sir  I" 

"  To  think,"  chimed  in  Mrs.  Temple,  for  once  agreeing 
fully  with  her  husband,  "  how  near  our  family,  that  has 
always  prided  itself  on  its  loyalty,  was  being  allied  to  a 
traitor.  But  he  shall  never  marry  Virginia,  I  vow. " 

"  No,  by  God,"  said  the  enraged  loyalist ;  "  she  should 
rot  in  her  grave  first." 

"  Miss  Temple  is  already  released  from  her  engagement," 
said  Hansford,  recovering  his  calmness  in  proportion  as  the 
other  party  lost  their's.  "  She  is  free  to  choose  for  her- 
self, sir." 

"  And  that  choice  shall  never  light  on  you,  apostate," 
cried  Temple,  "  unless  she  would  bring  my  grey  hairs  in 
sorrow  to  the  grave." 

"  And  mine,  too,"  said  the  old  lady,  beginning  to  weep. 

"  I  will  not  trouble  you  longer  with  my  presence,"  said 
Hansford,  proudly,  "  except  to  thank  you  for  past  kindness, 
which  I  can  never  forget.  Farewell,  Colonel  Temple,  I 
respect  your  prejudices,  though  they  have  led  you  to  curse 
me.  Farewell,  Mrs.  Temple,  I  will  ever  think  of  your 
generous  hospitality  with  gratitude.  Farewell,  Virginia, 


80  HANSFORD  : 

forget  that  such  a  being  as  Thomas  Hansford  ever  darkened 
your  path  through  life,  and  think  of  our  past  love  as  a 
dream.  I  can  bear  your  forgetfulness,  but  not  your  hate. 
For  you,  sir,"  he  added,  turning  to  Alfred  Bernard,  "let 
me  hope  that  we  will  meet  again,  where  no  interruption  will 
prevent  our  final  separation." 

With  these  words,  Hansford,  his  form  proudly  erect,  but 
his  heart  bowed  down  with  sorrow,  slowly  left  the  house. 

"  Are  you  not  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  ?"  asked  Bernard, 
with  a  meaning  look. 

"  And  what  is  that  to  you,  sir  ?"  replied  the  old  man,  sus- 
pecting the  design  of  the  question. 

"  Only,  sir,  that  as  such  it  is  your  sworn  duty  to  arrest 
that  traitor.  I  know  it  is  painful,  but  still  it  is  your  duty." 

"  And  who  the  devil  told  you  to  come  and  teach  me  my 
duty,  sir  ?"  said  the  old  man,  wrathfully.  "  Let  me  tell 
you,  sir,  that  Tom  Hansford,  with  all  his  faults,  is  a  d — d 
sight  better  than  a  great  many  who  are  free  from  the  stain 
of  rebellion.  Rebellion  !  —  oh,  my  God  !  —  poor,  poor 
Tom." 

"  Nay,  then,  sir,"  said  Bernard,  meekly,  "I  beg  your  par- 
don. I  only  felt  it  my  duty  to  remind  you  of  what  you 
might  have  forgotten.  God  forbid  that  I  should  wish  to 
endanger  the  life  of  a  poor  young  man,  whose  only  fault 
may  be  that  he  was  too  easily  led  away  by  others." 

"  You  are  right,  by  God,"  said  the  Colonel,  quickly. 
"  He  is  the  victim  of  designing  men,  and  yet  I  never  said  a 
word  to  reclaim  him.  Oh,  I  have  acted  basely  and 
not  like  a  friend.  I  will  go  now  and  bring  him  back, 
wife  ;  though  if  he  don't  repent — zounds  ! — neither  will  I ; 
no,  not  for  a  million  friends." 

So  saying,  the  noble-hearted  old  loyalist,  whose  impul- 
sive nature  was  as  prompt  to  redeem  as  to  commit  an  error, 
started  from  the  room  to  reclaim  his  lost  boy.  It  was  too 
late.  Hansford,  anticipating  the  result  of  the  fatal  revela- 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  81 

tion,  had  ordered  his  horse  even  before  his  first  interview 
with  Virginia.  The  old  Colonel  only  succeeded  in  catch- 
ing a  glimpse  of  him  from  the  porch,  as  at  a  full  gallop  he 
disappeared  through  the  forest." 

With  a  heavy  sigh  he  returned  to  the  study,  there  to  meet 
with  the  consolations  of  his  good  wife,  which  were  contained 
in  the  following  words : 

"  Well,  I  hope  and  trust  he  is  gone,  and.  will  never  darken 
our  doors  again.  You  know,  my  dear,  I  always  told  you 
that  you  were  wrong  about  that  young  man,  Hansford. 
There  always  seemed  to  be  a  lack  of  frankness  and  openness 
in  his  character,  and  although  I  do  not  like  to  interpose  my 
objections,  yet  I  never  altogether  approved  of  the  match. 
You  know  I  always  told  you  so." 

"  Told  the  devil !"  cried  the  old  man,  goaded  to  the  very 
verge  of  despair  by  this  new  torture.  "  I  beg  your  pardon, 
Bessy,  for  speaking  so  hastily,  but,  damn  it,  if  all  the  angels 
in  Heaven  had  told  me  that  Tom  Hansford  could  prove  a 
traitor,  I  would  not  have  believed  it." 

And  how  felt  she,  that  wounded,  trusting  one,  who  thus 
in  a  short  day  had  seen  the  hopes  and  dreams  of  happiness, 
which  fancy  had  woven  in  her  young  heart,  all  rudely 
swept  away  !  'Twere  wrong  to  lift  the  veil  from  that  poor 
stricken  heart,  now  torn  with  grief  too  deep  for  words— too 
deep,  alas !  for  tears.  With  her  cheek  resting  on  her  white 
hand,  she  gazed  tearlessly,  but  vacantly,  towards  the  forest 
where  he  had  so  lately  vanished  as  a  dream.  To  those  who 
spoke  to  her,  she  answered  sadly  in  monosyllables,  and  then 
turned  her  head  away,  as  if  it  were  still  sweet  to  cherish 
thus  the  agony  which  consumed  her.  But  the  bitterest  drop 
in  all  this  cup  of  woe,  was  the  self-reproach  which  mingled 
with  her  recollection  of  that  sad  scene.  When  he  had 
frankly  given  back  her  troth,  she,  alas !  had  not  stayed  his 
hand,  nor  by  a  word  had  told  him  how  truly,  even  in  his 
guilt,  her  heart  was  his.  And  now,  she  thought,  when 


82  HANSFORD : 

thus  driven  harshly  into  the  cold  world,  his  only  friends 
among  the  enemies  to  truth,  his  enemies  its  friends,  how  one 
little  word  of  love,  or  even  of  pity,  might  have  redeemed 
him  from  error,  or  at  least  have  cheered  him  in  his  dark 
career. 

But  bear  up  bravely,  sweet  one  ;  for  heavier,  darker  sor- 
rows yet  must  cast  their  shadows  on  thy  young  heart,  ere 
yet  its  warm  pulsations  cease  to  beat,  and  it  be  laid  at 
rest. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

lf  Wounded  in  both  my  honour  and  my  love ; 

They  have  pierced  me  in  two  tender  parts. 
Yet,  could  I  take  my  just  revenge, 

It  would  in  some  degree  assuage  my  smart." 

Vanbrngh. 

IT  was  at  an  early  hour  on  the  following  morning  that 
the  queer  old  chariot  of  Colonel  Temple — one  of  the  few, 
by  the  way,  which  wealth  had  as  yet  introduced  into  the 
colony — was  drawn  up  before  the  door.  The  two  horses 
of  the  gentlemen  were  standing  ready  saddled  and  bridled, 
in  the  care  of  the  hostler.  In  a  few  moments,  the  ladies, 
all  dressed  for  the  journey,  and  the  gentlemen,  with  their 
heavy  spurs,  long,  clanging  swords,  and  each  with  a  pair 
of  horseman's  pistols,  issued  from  the  house  into  the  yard. 
The  old  lady,  declaring  that  they  were  too  late,  and  that, 
if  her  advice  had  been  taken,  they  would  have  been  half 
way  to  Jamestown,  was  the  first  to  get  into  the  carriage, 
armed  with  a  huge  basket  of  bread,  beef's  tongue,  cold 


A  TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  83 

ham  and  jerked  venison,  which  was  to  supply  the  place  of 
dinner  on  the  road.  Yirginia,  pale  and  sad,  but  almost 
happy  at  any  change  from  scenes  where  every  object  brought 
up  some  recollection  of  the  banished  Hansford,  followed  her 
mother  ;  and  the  large  trunk  having  been  strapped  securely 
behind  the  carriage,  and  the  band-box,  containing  the  old 
lady's  tire  for  the  ball  and  other  light  articles  of  dress, 
having  been  secured,  the  little  party  were  soon  in  motion. 

The  hope  and  joy  with  which  Yirginia  had  looked  forward 
to  this  trip  to  Jamestown  had  been  much  enhanced  by  the 
certainty  that  Hansford  would  be  there.  With  the  joyous- 
ness  of  her  girlish  heart,  she  had  pictured  to  herself  the 
scene  of  pleasure  and  festivity  which  awaited  her.  The 
Lady  Frances'  birthday,  always .  celebrated  at  the  palace 
with  the  voice  of  music  and  the  graceful  dance — with  the 
presence  of  the  noblest  cavaliers  from  all  parts  of  the 
colony,  and  the  smiles  of  the  fairest  damsels  who  lighted 
the  society  of  the  Old  Dominion — was  this  year  to  be  cele- 
brated with  unusual  festivities.  But,  alas  !  how  changed 
were  the  feelings  of  Virginia'now  ! — how  blighted  were  the 
hopes  which  had  blossomed  in  her  heart  I 

Their  road  lay  for  the  most  part  through  a  beautiful 
forest,  where  the  tall  poplar,  the  hickory,  the  oak  and  the 
chestnut  were  all  indigenous,  and  formed  an  avenue  shaded 
by  their  broad  branches  from  the  intense  rays  of  the  sum- 
mer sun.  Now  and  then  the  horses  were  startled  at  the 
sudden  appearance  of  some  fairy-footed  deer,  as  it  bounded 
lightly  but  swiftly  through  the  woods ;  or  at  the  sudden 
whirring  of  the  startled  pheasant,  as  she  flew  from  their 
approach ;  or  the  jealous  gobble  of  the  stately  turkey,  as 
he  led  his  strutting  dames  into  his  thicket-harem.  The 
nimble  grey  squirrel,  too,  chattered  away  saucily  in  his  high 
leafy  nest,  secure  from  attack  from  his  very  insignificance. 
Birds  innumerable  were  seen  flitting  from  branch  to  branch, 
and  tuning  their  mellow  voices  as  choristers  in  this  forest- 


84  HANSFORD: 

temple  of  Nature.  The  song*  of  the  thrush  and  the  red- 
bird  came  sweetly  from  the  willows,  whose  weeping  branches 
overhung  the  neighbouring  banks  of  a  broad  stream ;  the 
distant  dove  joined  her  mournful  melody  to  their  cheerful 
notes,  and  the  woodpecker,  on  the  blasted  trunk  of  some 
stricken  oak,  tapped  his  rude  bass  in  unison  with  the  happy 
choir  of  the  forest. 

All  this  Virginia  saw  and  heard,  and  felt — yes,  felt  it  all 
as  a  bitter  mockery  :  as  if,  in  these  joyous  bursts  from  the 
big  heart  of  Nature,  she  were  coldly  regardless  of  the  sor- 
rows of  those,  her  children,  who  had  sought  their  happiness 
apart;  as  though  the  avenging  Creator  had  given  man 
naught  but  the  bitter  fruit  of  that  fatal  tree  of  knowledge, 
while  he  lavished  with  .profusion  on  all  the  rest  of  his 
creation  the  choicest  fruits  that  flourished  in  His  paradise. 

In  vain  did  Bernard,  with  his  soft  and  winning  voice, 
point  out  these  beauties  to  Virginia.  In  vain,  with  all  the 
rich  stores  of  his  gifted  mind,  did  he  seek  to  alienate  her 
thoughts  from  the  one  subject  that  engrossed  them.  She 
scarcely  heard  what  he  said,  and  when  at  length  urged  by 
the  impatient  nudges  of  her  mother  to  answer,  she  showed 
by  her  absence  of  mind  how  faint  had  been  the  impression 
which  he  made.  A  thousand  fears  for  the  safety  of  her 
lover  mingled  with  her  thoughts.  Travelling  alone  in  that 
wild  country,  with  hostile  Indians  infesting  the  colony,  what, 
alas  !  might  be  his  fate  !  Or  even  if  he  should  escape 
these  dangers,  still,  in  open  arms  against  his  government, 
proclaimed  a  rebel  by  the  Governor,  a  more  horrible  des- 
tiny might  await  him.  And  then  the  overwhelming  thought 
came  upon  her,  that  be  his  fate  in  other  respects  what  it 
might — whether  he  should  fall  by  the  cruelty  of  the  savage, 
the  sword  of  the  enemy,  or,  worst  of  all,  by  the  vengeance 
of  his  indignant  country — to  her  at  least  he  was  lost  for- 
ever. 

Avoiding  carefully  any  reference  to  the  subject  of  her 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  85 

grief,  and  bending  his  whole  mind  to  the  one  object  of 
securing  her  attention,  Alfred  Bernard  endeavored  to  be- 
guile her  with  graphic  descriptions  of  the  scenes  he  had 
left  in  England.  He  spoke — and  on  such  subjects  none 
could  speak  more  charmingly — of  the  brilliant  society  of 
wits,  and  statesmen,  and  beauties,  which  clustered  together 
in  the  metropolis  and  the  palace  of  the  restored  Stuart 
Passing  lightly  over  the  vices  of  the  court,  he  dwelt  upon 
its  pageantry,  its  wit,  its  philosophy,  its  poetry.  The  tal- 
ents of  the  gay  and  accomplished,  but  vicious  Rochester, 
were  no  more  seen  dimmed  in  their  lustre  by  his  faithlessness 
to  his  wife,  or  his  unprincipled  vices  in  the  beau  monde  of 
London.  Anecdote  after  anecdote,  of  Waller,  of  Cowley, 
of  Dryden,  flowed  readily  from  his  lips.  The  coffee-houses 
were  described,  where  wit  and  poetry,  science  and  art,  poli- 
tics and  religion,  were  discussed  by  the  first  intellects  of 
the  age,  and  allured  the  aspiring  youth  of  England  from 
the  vices  of  dissipation,  that  they  might  drink  in  rich 
draughts  of  knowledge  from  these  Pierian  springs.  The 
theatre,  the  masque,  the  revels,  which  the  genial  rays  of  the 
Restoration  had  once  more  warmed  into  life,  next  formed 
the  subjects  of  his  conversation.  Then  passing  from  this 
picture  of  gay  society,  he  referred  to  the  religious  discus- 
sions of  the  day.  His  eye  sparkled  and  his  cheek  glowed 
as  he  spoke  of  the  triumphs  of  the  established  Church  over 
puritanical  heresy ;  and  his  lip  curled,  and  he  laughed 
satirically,  as  he  described  the  heroic  sufferings  of  some 
conscientious  Baptist,  dragged  at  the  tail  of  a  cart,  and 
whipped  from  his  cell  in  Newgate  to  Tyburn  hill.  Gradu- 
ally did  Virginia's  thoughts  wander  from  the  one  sad  topic 
which  had  engrossed  them,  and  by  imperceptible  degrees, 
even  unconsciously  to  herself,  she  became  deeply  interested 
in  his  discourse.  Her  mother,  whom  the  wily  Bernard  took 
occasion  ever  and  anon,  to  propitiate  with  flattery,  was 
completely  carried  away,  and  in  the  inmost  recesses  of  her 

8 


86  HANSFORD: 

heart  a  hope  was  hatched  that  the  eloquent  young  courtiei 
would  soon  take  the  place  of  the  rebel  Hausford,  in  the 
affections  of  her  daughter. 

We  have  referred  to  a  stream,  along  whose  forest-banks 
their  road  had  wound.  That  stream  was  the  noble  York, 
whose  broad  bosom,  now  broader  and  more  beautiful  than 
ever,  lay  full  in  their  view,  and  on  which  the  duck,  the 
widgeon  and  the  gull  were  quietly  floating.  Here  and  there 
could  be  seen  the  small  craft  of  some  patient  fisherman,  as 
it  stood  anchored  at  a  little  distance  from  the  shore,  its 
white  sail  shrouding  the  solitary  mast ;  and  at  an  opening 
in  the  woods,  about  a  mile  ahead,  rose  the  tall  masts  of  an 
English  vessel,  riding  safely  in  the  broad  harbour  of  York- 
town — then  the  commercial  rival  of  Jamestown  in  the 
colony. 

The  road  now  became  too  narrow  for  the  gentlemen  any 
longer  to  ride  by  the  side  of  the  carnage,  and  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  Colonel,  an  arrangement  was  adopted  by 
which  he  should  lead  the  little  party  in  front,  while  Bernard 
should  bring  up  the  rear.  This  precaution  was  the  more 
necessary,  as  the  abrupt  banks  of  the  river,  with  the  dense 
bushes  which  grew  along  them,  was  a  safe  lurking  place  for 
any  Indians  who  might  be  skulking  about  the  country. 

"  A  very  nice  gentleman,  upon  my  word,"  said  Mrs. 
Temple,  when  Alfred  Bernard  was  out  of  hearing.  "  Vir- 
ginia, don't  you  like  him  ?" 

"  Yes,  very  much,  as  far  as  I  have  an  opportunity  of 
judging." 

"  His  information  is  so  extensive,  his  views  so  correct, 
his  conversation  so  delightful.  Don't  you  think  so  ?" 

"  Yes,  mother,"  replied  Virginia. 

"  Yes,  mother  1  Why  don't  you  show  more  spirit  ?"  said 
her  mother.  "  There  you  sat  moping  in  the  carriage  the 
whole  way,  looking  for  all  the  world  as  if  you  didn't  under- 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  8T 

stand  a  word  he  was  saying.  That  isn't  right,  my  dear  ; 
you  should  look  up  and  show  more  spirit — d'ye  hear  1" 

"You  mistake,  mother ;  I  did  enjoy  the  ride  very  much, 
and  found  Mr.  Bernard  very  agreeable." 

"  Well,  but  you  were  so  lack-a-daisical  and  yea,  nay,  in 
your  manner  to  him.  How  do  you  expect  a  young  man 
to  feel  any  interest  in  you,  if  you  never  give  him  any 
encouragement  ?" 

"Why,  mother,  I  don't  suppose  Mr.  Bernard  takes  any 
more  interest  in  me  than  he  would  in  any  casual  acquain- 
tance ;  and,  indeed,  if  he  did,  I  certainly  cannot  return  it. 
But  I  will  try  and  cheer  up,  and  be  more  agreeable  for 
your  sake." 

"  That's  right,  my  dear  daughter ;  remember  that  your 
old  mother  knows  what  is  best  for  you,  and  she  will  never 
advise  you  wrong.  I  think  it  is  very  plain  that  this  young 
gentleman  has  taken  a  fancy  to  you  already,  and  while  I 
would  not  have  you  too  pert  and  forward,  yet  it  is  well 
enough  to  show  off,  and,  in  a  modest  way,  do  everything  to 
encourage  him.  You  know  I  always  said,  my  dear,  that 
you  were  too  young  when  you  formed  an  attachment  for  that 
young  Hansford,  and  that  you  did  not  know  your  own 
heart,  and  now  you  see  I  was  right." 

Yirginia  did  not  see  that  her  mother  was  right,  but  she 
was  too  well  trained  to  reply ;  and  so,  without  a  word,  she 
yielded  herself  once  more  to  her  own  sad  reflections,  arid, 
true-hearted  girl  that  she  was,  she  soon  forgot  the  fascina- 
tions of  Alfred  Bernard  in  her  memory  of  Hansford. 

They  had  not  proceeded  far,  when  Bernard  saw,  seated 
on  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree,  the  dusky  form  of  a  young 
I  ndian,  whom  he  soon  recognized  as  the  leader  of  the  party 
who  the  day  before  had  made  the  attack  upon  Windsor 
Hall.  The  interest  which  he  felt  in  this  young  man,  whose 
early  history  he  had  heard,  combined  with  a  curiosity  to 
converse  with  one  of  the  strange  race  to  which  he  belonged, 


88  IIANSFORD  : 

and,  as  will  bo  seen,  a  darker  motive  and  a  stronger  reason 
than  either,  induced  Bernard  to  rein  up  his  horse,  and  per- 
mitting his  companions  to  proceed  some  distance  in  front, 
to  accost  the  young  Indian.  Alfred  Bernard,  by  nature 
and  from  education,  was  perfectly  fearless,  though  he  lacked 
the  magnanimity  which,  united  with  fearlessness,  constitutes 
bravery.  Laying  his  hand  on  his  heart,  which,  as  he  had 
already  learned,  was  the  friendly  salutation  used  with  and 
toward  the  savages,  he  rode  slowly  towards  Manteo.  The 
young  Indian  recognized  the  gesture  which  assured  him  of 
his  friendly  intent,  and  rising  from  his  rude  seat,  patiently 
waited  for  him  to  speak. 

"  I  would  speak  to  you,"  said  Bernard. 

"Speak  on." 

"  Are  you  entirely  alone  ?" 

"Ugh,"  grunted  Manteo,  affirmatively. 

"  Where  are  those  who  were  with  you  at  Windsor  Hull  ?" 

"  Gone  to  Delaware,*  to  Matchieomoco. "  f 

"  Why  did  you  not  go  with  them  ?"  asked  Bernard. 

"  Manteo  love  long-knife — Pamunkey  hate  Manteo — 
drive  him  away  from  his  tribe,"  said  the  young  savage,  sor- 
rowfully. 

The  truth  flashed  upon  Bernard  at  once.  This  young 
savage,  who,  in  a  moment  of  selfish  ambition,  for  his  own 
personal  advancement,  had  withheld  the  vengeance  of  his 
people,  was  left  by  those  whom  he  had  once  led,  as  no  longer 
worthy  of  their  confidence.  In  the  fate  of  this  untutored 
son  of  the  forest,  the  young  courtier  had  found  a  sterner 
rebuke  to  selfishness  and  ambition  than  he  had  ever  seen  in 
the  court  of  the  monarch  of  England. 

"  And  so  you  are  alone  in  the  world  now  ?"  said  Ber- 
nard. 

*  The  name  of  the  village  at  the  confluence  of  Pamunkey  and  Mat- 
t-apony,  now  called  West  Point. 
f  Grand  Council  of  the  Indians. 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.  89 

"  Ugh  !" 

"  With  nothing  to  hope  or  to  live  for  ?'; 

"One  hope  left,"  said  Manteo,  laying  his  hand  on  his 
tomahawk. 

"What  is  that?" 

"Revenge." 

"  On  whom  ?" 

"  On  long-knives  and  Pamunkeys." 

"  If  you  live  for  revenge,"  said  Bernard,  "  we  live  for 
nearly  the  same  object.  You  may  trust  me — I  will  be  your 
friend.  Do  you  know  me  ?" 

"No  !"  said  Manteo,  shaking  his  head. 

"Well,  I  know  you,"  said  Bernard.  "Now,  what  if  I 
help  you  to  the  sweet  morsel  of  revenge  you  speak  of  ?" 

"  I  tank  you  den." 

"  Do  you  know  your  worst  enemy  ?" 

"  Manteo  1" 

«  How — why  so  ?" 

"  I  make  all  my  oder  enemy." 

"  Nay,  but  I  know  an  enemy  who  is  even  worse  than 
yourself,  because  he  has  made  you  your  own  enemy.  One 
who  oppresses  your  race,  and  is  even  now  making  war  upon 
your  people.  I  mean  Thomas  Ilansford." 

"  Ugh  !"  said  Manteo,  with  more  surprise  than  he  had 
yet  manifested ;  and  for  once,  leaving  his  broken  English, 
he  cried  in  his  own  tongue,  "Ahoaleu  Virginia."  (He 
loves  Virginia  Temple.) 

"  And  do  you  ?"  said  Bernard,  guessing  at  his  meaning, 
and  marking  with  surprise  the  more  than  ordinary  feeling 
with  which  Manteo  had  uttered  these  words. 

"  See  dcre,"  replied  Manteo,  holding  up  an  arrow,  which 
he  had  already  taken  from  his  quiver,  as  if  with  the  inten- 
tion of  fixing  it  to  his  bow-string.  "De  white  crenepo,* 


*A 


90  HANSFORD : 

de  maiden,  blunt  Manteo's  arrow  when  it  would  fly  to  her 
father's  heart."  At  the  same  time  he  pointed  towards  the 
road  along  which  the  carriage  had  lately  passed. 

"  By  the  holy  Virgin,"  muttered  Bernard,  "  methinks  the 
whole  colony,  Indians,  negroes,  and  all,  are  going  stark 
mad  after  this  girl.  And  so  you  hate  Hansford,  then  ?"  he 
said  aloud. 

"  No,  I  can't  hate  what  she  loves,"  replied  Manteo,  feel- 
ingly. 

"  Why  did  you  aid  in  attacking  her  father's  house  then, 
yesterday  ?" 

"  Long-knives  strike  only  when  dey  hate ;  Pamunkey 
fight  from  duty.  If  Manteo  drop  de  tomahawk  because  he 
love,  he  is  squaw,  not  a  brave." 

"  But  this  Hansford,"  said  Bernard,  "  is  in  arms  against 
your  people,  whom  the  government  would  protect." 

"  TJgh  !"  grunted  the  young  warrior.  "  Pamunkey  want 
not  long-knives'  protect.  De  grand  werowance  of  long- 
knives  has  cut  down  de  peace  tree  and  broke  de  pipe,  and 
de  tomahawk  is  now  dug  up.  De  grand  werowance  pro- 
tect red  man  like  eagle  protect  young  hare." 

"  Nay,  but  we  would  be  friends  with  the  Indians,"  urged 
Bernard.  "  We  would  share  this  great  country  with  them, 
and  Berkeley  would  be  the  great  father  of  the  Pamunkeys." 

The  Indian  looked  with  ineffable  disdain  on  his  com- 
panion, and  then  turning  towards  the  river,  he  pointed  to  a 
large  fish-hawk,  who,  with  a  rapid  swoop,  had  caught  in  his 
talons  a  fish  that  had  just  bubbled  above  the  water  for 
breath,  and  borne  him  far  away  in  the  air. 

"  See  dere,"  said  Manteo  ;  "  water  belong  to  fish — hawk 
is  fish's  friend." 

Bernard  saw  that  he  had  entirely  mistaken  the  charac- 
ter of  his  companion.  The  vengeance  of  the  Indians  being 
once  aroused,  they  failed  to  discriminate  between  the  authors 
of  the  injuries  which  they  had  received,  and  those  who 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          91 

Bought  to  protect  them  ;  and  they  attributed  to  the  great 
werowance  of  the  long-knives  (for  so  they  styled  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia)  all  the  blame  of  the  attack  and  slaugh- 
ter of  the  unoffending  Susquehannahs.  But  the  wily  Ber- 
nard was  not  cast  down  by  his  ill  success,  in  attempting  to 
arouse  the  vengeance  of  Manteo  against  his  rival. 

"  Your  sister  is  at  the  hall  often,  is  she  not  ?"  he  asked, 
after  a  brief  pause. 

"  Ugh,"  said  the  Indian,  relapsing  into  this  affirmative 
grunt. 

"  So  is  Hansford — your  sister  knows  him." 

"  What  of  dat  ?" 

"  Excuse  me,  my  poor  friend,"  said  Bernard,  "  but  I  came 
to  warn  you  that  your  sister  knows  him  as  she  should  not." 

The  forest  echoed  with  the  wild  yell  that  burst  from  the 
lips  of  Manteo  at  this  cruel  fabrication — so  loud,  so  wild, 
so  fearful,  that  the  ducks  which  had  been  quietly  basking  in 
the  sun,  and  admiring  their  graceful  shadows  in  the  water, 
were  startled,  and  with  an  alarmed  cry  flew  far  away  down 
the  river. 

The  Indian  character,  although  still  barbarous,  had  been 
much  improved  by  association  with  the  English.  Respect 
for  the  female  sex,  and  a  scrupulous  regard  for  female  purity, 
which  are  ever  the  first  results  of  dawning  civilization,  had 
already  taken  possession  of  the  benighted  souls  of  the  In- 
dians of  Virginia.  More  especially  was  this  so  with  the 
young  Manteo,  whose  association  with  the  whites,  notwith- 
standing his  strong  devotion  to  his  own  race,  had  imparted 
more  refinement  and  purity  to  his  nature  than  was  enjoyed 
by  most  of  his  tribe.  Mamalis,  the  pure,  the  spotless 
Mamalis — she,  whom  from  his  earliest  boyhood  he  had 
hoped  to  bestow  on  some  young  brave,  who,  foremost  in 
the  chase,  or  most  successful  in  the  ambuscade,  could  tell 
the  story  of  his  achievements  among  the  chieftains  at  the 
council-fire — it  was  too  much ;  the  stern  heart  of  the  young 


92  HANSFORD : 

Indian,  though  "trained  from  his  tree-rocked  cradle  the 
fierce  extremes  of  good  and  ill  to  bear,"  burst  forth  in  a 
gush  of  agony,  as  he  thus  heard  the  fatal  knell  of  all  his 
pride  and  all  his  hope. 

Bernard  was  at  first  startled  by  the  shriek,  but  soon 
regained  his  composure,  and  calm  and  composed  regarded 
his  victim.  When  at  length  the  first  violence  of  grief  had 
subsided,  he  said,  with  a  soft,  mild  voice,  which  fell  fresh  as 
dew  upon  the  withered  heart  of  the  poor  Indian, 

"  I  am  sorry  for  you,  my  friend,  but  it  is  too  true.  And 
now,  Manteo,  what  can  be  your  only  consolation  ?" 

"  Revenge  is  de  wighsacan*  to  cure  dis  wound, "said  the 
poor  savage. 

"  Bight.  This  is  the  only  food  for  brave  and  injured 
men.  Well,  we  understand  each  other  now — don't  we  ?" 

"  Ugh,"  grunted  Manteo,  with  a  look  of  satisfaction. 

"  Yery  well,"  returned  Bernard,  "  is  your  tomahawk 
sharp  ?" 

"  It  won't  cut  deep  as  dis  wound,  but  I  will  sharpen  it 
on  my  broken  heart,"  replied  Manteo,  with  a  heavy  sigh. 

"  Right  bravely  said.  And  now  farewell ;  I  will  help 
you  as  I  can,"  said  Alfred  Bernard,  as  he  turned  and  rode 
away,  while  the  poor  Indian  sank  down  again  upon  his  rude 
log  seat,  his  head  resting  on  his  hands. 

"  And  this  the  world  calls  villainy !"  mused  Bernard,  as 
he  rode  along.  "  But  it  is  the  weapon  with  which  nature 
has  armed  the  weak,  that  he  may  battle  with  the  strong. 
For  what  purpose  was  the  faculty  of  intrigue  bestowed  upon 
man,  if  it  were  not  "to  be  exercised  ?  and,  if  exercised  at 
all,  why  surely  it  can  never  be  directed  to  a  purer  object 
than  the  accomplishment  of  good.  Thus,  then,  what  the 
croaking  moralist  calls  evil,  may  always  be  committed  if 
good  be  the  result ;  and  what  higher  good  can  be  attained 

*  A  root  used  by  the  Indinns  successfully  in  the  cure  of  all  wounds. 


A  TALE  or  BACON'S  REBELLION.  93 

in  life  than  happiness,  and  what  purer  happiness  can  there 
be  than  revenge  ?  No  man  shall  ever  cross  my  path  bat 
once  with  safety,  and  this  young  Virginia  rebel  has  already 
done  so.  He  has  shown  his  superior  skill  and  courage  with 
the  sword,  and  has  made  me  ask  my  life  at  his  hands.  Let 
him  look  to  it  that  he  may  not  have  to  plead  for  his  own 
life  in  vain.  This  young  Indian's  thirst  will  not  be 
quenched  but  with  blood.  By  the  way,  a  lucky  hit  was 
that.  His  infernal  yell  is  sounding  in  my  ears  yet.  But 
Hansford  stands  in  my  way  besides.  This  fair  young 
maiden,  with  her  beauty,  her  intellect,  and  her  land,  may 
make  my  fortune  yet ;  and  who  can  blame  the  poor,  friend- 
less orphan,  if  he  carve  his  way  to  honour  and  indepen- 
dence even  through  the  blood  of  a  rival.  The  poor,  duped 
savage  whom  I  just  left,  said  that  he  was  his  own  worst 
enemy  ;  I  am  wiser  in  being  my  own  best  friend.  Tell  me 
not  of  the  world — it  is  mine  oyster,  which  I  will  open  by 
my  wits  as  well  as  by  my  sword.  Prate  not  of  morality 
and  philanthropy.  Man  is  a  microcosm,  a  world  within 
himself,  and  he  only  is  a  wise  one  who  uses  the  world  with- 
out for  the  success  of  the  world  within.  Once  supplant 
this  Hansford  in  the  love  of  his  betrothed  bride,  and  I  suc- 
ceed to  the  broad  acres  of  Windsor  Hall.  Old  Berkeley 
shall  be  the  scaffolding  by  which  I  will  rise  to  power  and 
position,  and  when  he  rots  down,  the  building  I  erect  will 
be  but  the  fairer  for  the  riddance.  Who  recks  the  path 
which  he  has  trod,  when  home  and  happiness  are  in  view  ? 
What  general  thinks  of  the  blood  he  has  shed,  when  the 
shout  of  victory  rings  in  his  ears  ?  Be  true  to  yourself, 
Alfred  Bernard,  though  false  to  all  the  world  beside  !  At 
last,  good  father  Bellini,  thou  hast  taught  me  true  wisdom — 
'  Success  sanctifies  sin.'" 


94  HANSFOHD : 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

"Is  this  your  joyous  city,  whose  antiquity  is  of  ancient  days?" 

Isaiah. 

"  One  mouldering  tower,  o'ergrown  with  ivy,  shows 
Where  first  Virginia's  capital  arose, 
And  to  the  tourist's  vision  far  withdrawn 
Stands  like  a  sentry  at  the  gates  of  dawn. 
The  church  has  perished — faint  the  lines  and  dim 
Of  those  whoso  voices  raised  the  choral  hyrnn, 
Go  read  the  record  on  the  mossy  stone, 
'Tis  brief  and  sad — oblivion  claims  its  own !" 

Thonyjson's  Virginia, 

THE  traveller,  as  he  is  borne  on  the  bosom  of  the  noble 
James,  on  the  wheezing,  grunting  steamboat,  may  still  see 
upon  the  bank  of  the  river,  a  lonely  ruin,  which  is  all  that 
now  remains  of  the  old  church  at  Jamestown.  Despite  its 
loneliness  and  desolation,  that  old  church  has  its  memories, 
which  hallow  it  in  the  heart  of  every  Yirginian.  From  its 
ruined  chancel  that  "singular  excellent"  Christian  and  man, 
good  Master  Hunt,  was  once  wont,  in  far  gone  times,  to 
preach  the  gospel  of  peace  to  those  stern  old  colonists,  who 
in  full  armour,  and  ever  prepared  for  Indian  interruptions, 
listened  with  devout  attention.  There  in  the  front  pew, 
which  stood  nearest  the  chancel,  had  sat  John  Smith,  whose 
sturdy  nature  and  strong  practical  sense  were  alone  suffi- 
cient to  repel  the  invasion  of  heathen  savages,  and  provide 
for  the  wants  of  a  famishing  colony.  Yet,  with  all  the 
sternness  and  rigour  of  his  character,  his  heart  was  subdued 
by  the  power  of  religion,  as  he  bowed  in  meek  submission 
to  its  precepts,  and  relied  with  humble  confidence  upon  its 
promises.  The  pure  light  of  Heaven  was  reflected  even 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          95 

from  that  strong  iron  heart.  At  that  altar  had  once  knelt 
a  dusky  but  graceful  form,  the  queenly  daughter  of  a  noble 
king  ;  and,  her  savage  nature  enlightened  by  the  rays  of  the 
Sun  of  righteousness,  she  had  there  received  upon  her  royal 
brow  the  sacred  sign  of  her  Redeemer's  cross.  And  many 
a  dark  eye  was  bedewed  with  tears,  and  many  a  strong 
heart  was  bowed  in  prayer,  as  the  stout  old  colonists  stood 
around,  and  saw  the  baptismal  rite  which  sealed  the  profes- 
sion and  the  faith  of  the  brave,  the  beautiful,  the  generous 
Pocahontas. 

But  while  this  old  ruin  thus  suggests  many  an  association 
with  the  olden  time,  there  is  nothing  left  to  tell  the  anti- 
quary of  the  condition  and  appearance  of  Jamestown,  the 
first  capital  of  Virginia.  The  island,  as  the  narrow  neck 
of  land  on  which  the  town  was  built  is  still  erroneously 
called,  may  yet  be  seen ;  but  not  a  vestige  of  the  simple 
splendour,  with  which  colonial  pride  delighted  to  adorn  it, 
remains  to  tell  the  story  of  its  glory  or  destruction.  And 
yet,  to  the  eye  and  the  heart  of  the  colonist,  this  little  town 
was  a  delight :  for  here  were  assembled  the  Governor  and 
his  council,  who,  with  mimic  pride,  emulated  the  grandeur 
and  the  pageant  of  Whitehall.  Here,  too,  were  the  bur- 
gesses congregated  at  the  call  of  the  Governor,  who,  with 
their  stately  wives  and  blooming  daughters,  contributed  to 
the  delight  of  the  metropolitan  society.  Here,  too,  was  the 
principal  mart,  where  the  planters  shipped  their  tobacco  for 
the  English  market,  and  received  from  home  those  articles 
of  manufacture  and  those  rarer  delicacies  which  the  colony 
was  as  yet  unable  to  supply.  And  here,  too,  they  received 
news  from  Europe,  which  served  the  old  planters  and 
prurient  young  statesmen  with  topics  of  conversation  until 
the  next  arrival ;  while  the  young  folks  gazed  with  wonder 
and  delight  at  the  ship,  its  crew  and  passengers,  who  had 
actually  been  in  that  great  old  England  of  which  they  had 
heard  their  fathers  talk  so  much. 


96  HANSFORD : 

The  town,  like  an  old-fashioned  sermon,  was  naturally 
divided  into  two  parts.  The  first,  which  lay  along  the 
river,  was  chiefly  devoted  to  commercial  purposes — the 
principal  resort  of  drunken  seamen,  and  those  land  harpies 
who  prey  upon  them  for  their  own  subsistence.  Here  were 
located  those  miserable  tippling-houses,  which  the  Assembly 
had  so  long  and  so  vainly  attempted  to  suppress.  Here 
were  the  busy  forwarding  houses,  with  their  dark  counting- 
rooms,  their  sallow  clerks,  and  their  bills  of  lading.  Here 
the  shrewd  merchant  and  the  bluff  sea-captain  talked  loudly 
and  learnedly  of  the  laws  of  trade,  the  restrictive  policy  of 
the  navigation  laws,  and  the  growing  importance  of  the 
commercial  interests  of  the  colony.  And  here  was  the 
immense  warehouse,  under  the  especial  control  of  the  gov- 
ernment, with  its  hundreds  of  hogsheads  of  tobacco,  all 
waiting  patiently  their  turn  for  inspection  ;  and  the  sweat- 
ing negroes,  tearing  off  the  staves  of  the  hogsheads  to  dis- 
play the  leaf  to  view,  and  then  noisily  hammering  them 
together  again,  while  the  impatient  inspector  himself  went 
the  rounds  and  examined  the  wide  spread  plant,  and 
adjudged  its  quality ;  proving  at  the  same  time  his  capa- 
city as  a  connoisseur,  by  the  enormous  quid  which  he  rolled 
pleasantly  in  his  mouth. 

But  it  is  the  more  fashionable  part  of  the  town,  with 
which  our  story  has  to  do ;  arid  here,  indeed,  even  at  this 
early  day,  wealth  and  taste  had  done  much  to  adorn  the 
place,  and  to  add  to  the  comfort  of  the  inhabitants.  At 
one  end  of  the  long  avenue,  which  was  known  as  Stuart 
street,  in  compliment  to  the  royal  family,  was  situated  the 
palace  of  Sir  William  Berkeley.  Out  of  his  private  means 
and  the  immense  salary  of  his  office,  the  governor  had  done 
much  to  beautify  and  adorn  his  grounds.  A  lawn,  with  its 
well  shaven  turf,  stretched  in  front  of  the  house  for  more 
than  a  hundred  yards,  traversed  in  various  directions  with 
white  gravelled  walks,  laid  out  with  much  taste,  and  inter- 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          9f 

spersed  with  large  elms  and  poplars.  In  the  centre  of  the 
lawn  was  a  beautiful  summer-house,  over  which  the  white 
jessamine  and  the  honeysuckle,  planted  by  Lady  Frances' 
own  hand,  clambered  in  rich  profusion.  The  house,  itself, 
though  if  it  still  remained,  it  would  seem  rather  quaint  and 
old-fashioned,  was  still  very  creditable  as  a  work  of  archi- 
tecture. A  long  porch,  or  gallery,  supported  by  simple 
Doric  pillars,  stretched  from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other,  and 
gave  an  air  of  finish  and  beauty  to  the  building.  The 
house  was  built  of  brick,  brought  all  the  way  from  Eng- 
land, for  although  the  colonists  had  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  brick  to  a  certain  extent,  yet  for  many  years  after 
the  time  of  which  we  write,  they  persisted  in  this  extraor- 
dinary expense,  in  supplying  the  materials  for  their  better 
class  of  buildings. 

At  the  other  end  of  Stuart  street  was  the  state-house, 
erected  in  pursuance  of  an  act,  the  preamble  of  which 
recites  the  disgrace  of  having  laws  enacted  and  judicial 
proceedings  conducted  in  an  ale-house.  This  building, 
like  the  palace,  was  surrounded  by  a  green  lawn,  orna- 
mented with  trees  and  shrubbery,  and  enclosed  by  a  hand- 
some pale — midway  the  gate  and  the  portico,  on  either  side 
of  the  broad  gravel  walk,  were  two  handsome  houses,  one 
of  which  was  the  residence  of  Sir  Henry  Chicherley,  Yice- 
President  of  the  Council,  and  afterwards  deputy-governor 
upon  the  death  of  Governor  Jeffreys.  The  other  house 
was  the  residence  of  Thomas  Ludwell,  Secretary  to  the 
colony,  and  brother  to  Colonel  Philip  Ludwell,  whose 
sturdy  and  unflinching  loyalty  during  the  rebellion,  has 
preserved  his  name  to  our  own  times. 

The  state-house,  itself,  was  a  large  brick  building, 
with  two  wings,  the  one  occupied  by  the  governor  and  his 
council,  the  other  by  the  general  court,  composed  indeed 
of  the  same  persons  as  the  council,  but  acting  in  a  judicial 
capacity.  The  centre  building  was  devoted  to  the  House 

9 


98  HANSFORD : 

Burgesses  exclusively,  containing  their  hall,  library,  and 
apartments  for  different  offices.  The  whole  structure  was 
surmounted  by  a  queer  looking  steeple,  resembling  most 
one  of  those  high,  peaked  hats,  which  Hogarth  has  placed 
on  the  head  of  Hudibras  and  his  puritan  compeers. 

Between  the  palace  and  the  state-house,  as  we  have  said 
before,  ran  Stuart  street,  the  thoroughfare  of  the  little 
metropolis,  well  built  up  on  either  side  with  stores  and  the 
residences  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  the  town.  There 
was  one  peculiarity  in  the  proprietors  of  these  houses, 
which  will  sound  strangely  in  the  ears  of  their  descend- 
ants. Accustomed  to  the  generous  hospitality  of  the 
present  day,  the  reader  may  be  surprised  to  learn  that 
most  of  the  citizens  of  old  Jamestown  entertained  their 
guests  from  the  country  for  a  reasonable  compensation ; 
and  so,  when  the  gay  cavalier  from  Stafford  or  Gloucester 
had  passed  a  week  among  the  gaieties  or  business  of  the 
metropolis, 

He  called  for  his  horse  and  lie  asked  for  his  way, 
While  the  jolly  old  landlord  cried  "  Something  to  pay." 

But  when  we  reflect  that  Jamestown  was  the  general  resort 
of  persons  from  all  sections  of  the  colony,  and  that  the 
tavern  accommodations  were  but  small,  we  need  not  be 
surprised  at  a  state  of  things  so  different  from  the  glad 
and  gratuitous  welcome  of  our  own  day. 

Such,  briefly  and  imperfectly  described,  was  old  James- 
town, the  first  capital  of  Virginia,  as  it  appeared  in  1676, 
to  the  little  party  of  travellers,  whose  fortunes  we  have 
been  following,  as  they  rode  into  Stuart  street,  late  in  the 
evening  of  the  day  on  which  they  left  Windsor  Hall.  The 
arrival,  as  is  usual  in  little  villages,  caused  quite  a  sensa- 
tion. The  little  knot  of  idlers  that  gathered  about  the 
porch  of  the  only  regular  inn,  desisted  from  whittling  the 
store  box,  in  the  demolishing  of  which  they  had  been  busily 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.  «Jf 

engaged — and  looked  up  with  an  impertinent  stare  at  the 
new  comers.  Mine  host  bustled  about  as  the  carriage, 
drove  up  before  the  door,  and  his  jolly  red  face  grew 
redder  by  his  vociferous  calls  for  servants.  In  obedience 
to  his  high  behest,  the  servants  came — the  hostler,  an 
imported  cockney,  to  examine  the  points  of  the  horses 
committed  to  his  care,  and  to  measure  his  provender  by 
their  real  worth ;  the  pretty  Scotch  chambermaid  to  con- 
duct the  ladies  to  their  respective  rooms,  and  a  brisk  and 
dapper  little  French  barber  to  attack  the  colonel  vehe- 
mently with  a  clothes-brush,  as  though  he  had  hostile 
designs  upon  the  good  man's  coat. 

Bernard,  in  the  meantime,  having  promised  to  come  for 
Virginia,  and  escort  her  to  the  famous  birth-night  ball, 
rode  slowly  towards  the  palace ;  now  and  then  casting  a 
haughty  glance  around  him  on  those  worthy  gossips, 
who  followed  his  fine  form  with  their  admiring  eyes,  and 
whispered  among  themselves  that  "  Some  folks  was  cer- 
tainly born  to  luck ;  for  look  ye,  Gaffer,  there  is  a  young 
fribble,  come  from  the  Lord  knows  where,  and  brought 
into  the  colony  to  be  put  over  the  heads  of  many  worthier; 
and  for  all  he  holds  his  head  so  high,  and  sneers  so  mighty 
handsome  with  his  lip,  who  knows  what  the  lad  may  be. 
The  great  folk  aye  make  a  warm  nest  for  their  own  bas- 
tards, and  smooth  the  outside  of  the  blanket  as  softly  as 
the  iii,  while  houester  folks  must  e'en  rough  it  in  frieze  and 
Duffield.  But  na'theless,  I  say  nothing,  neighbor." 


100  HANSFORD I 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

"  There  was  a  sound  of  revelry  by  night — 

And  Belgium's  capital  had  gathered  then 
Her  beauty  and  her  chivalry ;  and  bright 

The  lamps  shone  o'er  fair  women  and  brave  men ; 
A  thousand  hearts  beat  happily;  and  when 

Music  arose  with  its  voluptuous  swell, 
Soft  eyes  looked  love  to  eyes  that  spoke  again, 
And  all  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell." 

Childe  Harold. 

THE  ball  at  Sir  William  Berkeley's  palace  was  of  that 
character,  which,  in  the  fashionable  world,  is  described  as 
brilliant ;  and  was  long  remembered  by  those  who  attended 
it,  as  the  last  scene  of  revelry  that  was  ever  known  in 
Jamestown.  The  park  or  lawn  which  we  have  described 
was  brilliantly  illuminated  with  lamps  and  transparencies 
hung  from  the  trees.  The  palace  itself  was  a  perfect  blaze 
of  light.  The  coaches  of  the  cavaliers  rolled  in  rapid  suc- 
cession around  the  circular  path  that  led  to  the  palace, 
and  deposited  their  fair  burdens,  and  then  rolled  rapidly 
away  to  await  the  breaking  up  of  the  ball.  Young  beaux, 
fairly  glittering  with  gold  embroidery,  with  their  handsome 
doublets  looped  with  the  gayest  ribbons,  and  their  hair 
perfumed  and  oiled,  and  plaited  at  the  sides  in  the  most 
captivating  love-knots ;  their  cheeks  beplastered  with 
rouge,  and  their  moustache  carefully  trimmed  and  brushed, 
passed  gracefully  to  and  fro,  through  the  vast  hall,  and 
lucked  love  to  soft  eyes  that  spake  again.  And  those 
young  eyes,  how  brightly  did  they  beam,  and  how  freshly 
did  the  young  cheeks  of  their  lovely  owners  blush,  even 
above  the  rouge  with  which  they  were  painted,  as  they 


A    TALE    OF    BACON'S   REBELLtCfeC     '•  10  L' 


met  the  admiring  glance  of  some  fiwor,ed 
ingly  upon  them  !  How  graceful,  too,  the  attitude  which 
these  fair  maidens  assumed,  with  their  long  trails  sweeping 
and  fairly  carpetting  the  floor,  or  when  held  up  by  their 
tapering  fingers,  how  proudly  did  they  step,  as  they 
crossed  the  room  to  salute  the  stately  and  dignified,  but 
now  smiling  Lady  Frances  Berkeley  —  and  she  the  queenly 
centre  of  that  vast  throng,  leaning  upon  the  arm  of  her 
noble  and  venerable  husband,  with  what  grace  and  dignity 
she  bowed  her  turbaned  head  in  response  to  their  saluta- 
tions ;  and  with  what  a  majestic  air  of  gratified  vanity  did 
she  receive  the  courteous  gratulations  of  the  chivalrous  ca- 
valiers as  they  wished  her  many  returns  of  the  happy  day, 
and  hoped  that  the  hours  of  her  life  would  be  marked  by 
the  lapse  of  diamond  sands,  while  roses  grew  under  her  feet  ! 
Sir  William  Berkeley,  of  whose  extraordinary  character 
we  know  far  more  than  of  any  of  the  earlier  governors  of 
Virginia,  was  now  in  the  evening  of  his  long  and  prosper- 
ous life.  "  For  more  than  thirty  years  he  had  governed 
the  most  flourishing  country  the  sun  ever  shone  upon,"* 
and  had  won  for  himself  golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of 
people.  Happy  for  him,  and  happy  for  his  fame,  if  he  had 
passed  away  ere  he  had  become  "encompassed,"  as  he 
himself  expresses  it,  "with  rebellion,  like  waters."  To  all 
he  had  endeared  himself  by  his  firmness  of  character  and 
his  suavity  of  manner.  In  1659,  he  was  called,  by  the 
spontaneous  acclaim  of  the  people  of  Virginia,  to  assume 
the  high  functions  of  the  government,  of  which  he  had  been 
deprived  during  th4.  Protectorate,  and,  under  his  lead,  Vir- 
ginia was  the  first  to  throw  off  her  allegiance  to  the  Pro- 
tector, and  to  declare  herself  the  loyal  realm  of  the  banished 
Charles.  Had  William  Berkeley  died  before  the  troublous 
scenes  which  now  awaited  him,  and  which  have  cast  so  dark 

*  This  is  his  own  language. 


102 


HANSPORD ! 


&  £hado.W  upon  his  character,  scarce  any  man  in  colonial 
history  had  left  so  pure  a  name,  or  been  mourned  by 
sincerer  tears.  Death  is  at  last  the  seal  of  fame,  and  over 
the  grave  alone  can  we  form  a  just  estimate  of  human  worth 
and  human  virtue. 

In  person  he  was  all  that  we  delight  to  imagine  in  one 
who  is  truly  great.  Age  itself  had  not  bent  his  tall,  majes- 
tic figure,  which  rose,  like  the  form  of  the  son  of  Kish, 
above  all  the  people.  His  full  black  eye  was.  clear  and 
piercing,  and  yet  was  often  softened  by  a  benevolent  expres- 
sion. And  this  was  the  true  nature  of  his  heart,  formed  at 
once  for  softness  and  for  rigour.  His  mouth,  though  fre- 
quently a  pleasant  smile  played  around  it,  expressed  the  in- 
flexible firmness  and  decision  of  his  character.  No  man  to 
friends  was  more  kind  and  gentle ;  no  man  to  a  foe  was  more 
relentless  and  vindictive.  The  only  indication  of  approach- 
ing age  was  in  the  silver  colour  of  his  hair,  which  he  did 
not  conceal  with  the  recently  introduced  periwig,  and 
which,  combed  back  to  show  to  its  full  advantage  his  fine 
broad  brow,  fell  in  long  silvery  clusters  over  his  shoulders. 

Around  him  were  gathered  the  prominent  statesmen  of 
the  colony,  members  of  the  Council  and  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses,  conversing  on  various  subjects  of  political  inte- 
rest. Among  those  who  chose  this  rational  mode  of  enter- 
tainment was  our  old  friend,  Colonel  Henry  Temple,  who 
met  many  an  old  colleague  among  the  guests,  and  every- 
where received  the  respect  and  attention  which  his  sound 
sense,  his  sterling  worth,  and  his  former  services  so  richly 
deserved. 

The  Lady  Frances,  too,  withdrawing  her  arm  from  that 
of  her  husband,  engaged  in  elegant  conversation  with  the 
elderly  dames  who  sought  her  society ;  now  conversing 
with  easy  dignity  with  the  accomplished  wives  of  the 
councillors ;  now,  with  high-bred  refinement,  overlooking 
the  awkward  blunders  of  some  of  the  plainer  matrons,  whose 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          103 

husbands  were  in  the  Assembly ;  and  now  smiling  good- 
humouredly  at  the  old-fashioned  vanity  and  assumed  dig- 
nity of  Mrs.  Temple.  The  comparison  of  the  present 
order  of  things  with  that  to  which  she  had  been  accustomed 
in  her  earlier  days,  formed,  as  usual,  the  chief  theme  of 
this  good  lady's  discourse.  But,  to  the  attentive  observer, 
the  glance  of  pride  with  which  from  time  to  time  she  looked 
at  her  daughter,  who,  with  graceful  step  and  glowing  cheek, 
was  joining  in  the  busy  dance,  plainly  showed  that,  in  some 
respects  at  least,  Mrs.  Temple  had  to  acknowledge  that  the 
bright  present  had  even  eclipsed  her  favourite  past. 

Yes,  to  the  gay  sound  of  music,  amid  the  bright  butter- 
flies of  fashion,  who  flew  heartlessly  through  the  mazes  of 
the  graceful  dance,  Virginia  Temple  moved — with  them, 
but  not  of  them.  She  had  not  forgotten  Hansford,  but 
she  had  forgotten  self,  and,  determined  to  please  her  mother, 
she  had  sought  to  banish  from  her  heart,  for  the  time,  the 
sorrow  which  was  still  there.  She  had  come  to  the  ball 
with  Bernard,  and  he,  seeing  well  the  effort  she  had  made, 
bent  all  the  powers  of  his  gifted  mind  to  interest  her 
thoughts,  and  beguile  them  from  the  absorbing  subject  of 
her  grief.  She  attributed  his  efforts  to  a  generous  nature, 
and  thanked  him  in  her  heart  for  thus  devoting  himself  to 
her  pleasure.  She  had  attempted  to  return  his  kindness  by 
an  assumed  cheerfulness,  which  gradually  became  real  and 
natural,  for  shadows  rest  not  long  upon  a  young  heart. 
They  fly  from  the  blooming  garden  of  youth,  and  settle 
themselves  amid  the  gloom  and  ruins  of  hoary  age.  And 
never  had  Alfred  Bernard  thought  the  fair  girl  more  lovely, 
as,  with  just  enough  of  pensive  melancholy  to  soften  and 
not  to  sadden  her  heart,  she  moved  among  the  gay  and 
thoughtless  throng  around  her. 

The  room  next  to  the  ball-room  was  appropriated  to  such 
of  the  guests  as  chose  to  engage  in  cards  and  dice  ;  for  in 
this,  as  in  many  other  respects,  the  colony  attempted  to 


104  HANSFORD : 

imitate  the  vices  of  the  mother  country.  It  is  true  the 
habit  of  gaming  was  not  so  recklessly  extravagant  as  that 
which  disgraced  the  corrupt  court  of  Charles  the  Second, 
and  yet  the  old  planters  were  sufficiently  bold  in  their  risks, 
and  many  hundreds  of  pounds  of  tobacco  often  hung  upon 
the  turn  of  the  dice-box  or  the  pip*  of  a  card.  Seated 
around  the  old  fashioned  card-table  of  walnut,  were  sundry 
groups  of  those  honest  burgesses,  who  were  ready  enough 
in  the  discharge  of  their  political  functions  in  the  state- 
house,  but  after  the  adjournment  were  fully  prepared  for  all 
kinds  of  fun.  Some  were  playing  at  gleek,  and,  to  the 
uninitiated,  incomprehensible  was  the  jargon  in  which  the 
players  indulged.  "  Who'll  buy  the  stock  ?"  cries  the 
dealer.  "  I  bid  five  " — "  and  I  ten  "— "  and  I  fifty. "  Tie, 
revie,  surrevie,  capote,  double  capote,  were  the  terms  that 
rang  through  the  room,  as  the  excited  gamesters,  with 
anxious  faces,  sorted  and  examined  their  cards.  At  another 
table  was  primero,  or  thirty-one,  a  game  very  much  resem- 
bling the  more  modern  game  of  vingt-et-un  ;  and  here,  too, 
loud  oaths  of  "  damn  the  luck,"  escaped  the  lips  of  the 
betters,  as,  with  twenty-two  in  their  hands,  they  drew  a  ten, 
and  burst  with  a  pip  too  many.  Others  were  moderate  in 
their  risks,  rattled  the  dice  at  tra-trap,  and  playing  for  only 
an  angel  a  game,  smoked  their  pipes  sociably  together,  and 
talked  of  the  various  measures  before  the  Assembly. 

Thus  the  first  hours  of  the  evening  passed  rapidly  away, 
when  suddenly  the  sound  of  the  rebecksf  ceased  in  the  ball- 
room, the  gaming  was  arrested  in  an  instant,  and  at  the 
loud  cry  of  hall-a-hall,  J  the  whole  company  repaired  to  the 
long,  broad  porch,  crowding  and  pushing  each  other,  the 
unwary  cavaliers  treading  on  the  long  trains  of  the  fair 
ladies,  and  receiving  a  well-merited  frown  for  their  care- 

*  Pip  signified  the  spot  on  a  card. 

f  Fiddles. 

jl  The  cry  of  the  herald  for  silence  at  the  beginning  of  the  masque. 


A  TALE   OF   BACON'S  REBELLION.  105 

lessness.  The  object  of  this  general  rush  was  to  see  the 
masque,  which  was  to  be  represented  in  the  porch,  illu- 
minated and  prepared  for  the  purpose.  At  one  end  of  the 
porch  a  stage  was  erected,  with  all  the  simple  machinery 
which  the  ingenuity  of  the  youth  of  Jamestown  could 
devise,  to  aid  in  the  representation — the  whole  concealed 
for  the  present  from  the  view  of  the  spectators  by  a  green 
baize  curtain. 

The  object  of  the  masque,  imitated  from  the  celebrated 
court  masques  of  the  seventeenth  century,  which  reflected 
so  much  honour  on  rare  Ben  Jonson,  and  aided  in  establish- 
ing the  early  fame  of  John  Milton,  was  to  celebrate  under 
a  simple  allegory  the  glories  of  the  Restoration.  Alfred 
Bernard,  who  had  witnessed  such  a  representation  in  Eng- 
land, first  suggested  the  idea  of  thus  honouring  the  birth- 
night  of  the  Lady  Frances,  and  the  suggestion  was  eagerly 
taken  hold  of  by  the  loyal  young  men  of  the  little  colonial 
capital,  who  rejoiced  in  any  exhibition  that  might  even 
faintly  resemble  the  revels  to  which  their  loyal  ancestors, 
before  the  revolution,  were  so  ardently  devoted. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

"  Then  help  with  your  call 
For  a  hall,  a  hall ! 
Stand  up  by  the  wall, 
Both  good-men  and  tall, 
We  are  one  man's  all !" 

The  Gipaey  Metamorphosed. 

WITH  the  hope  that  a  description  of  the  sports  and 
pastimes  of  their  ancestors  may  meet  with  like  favour  from 
the  reader,  we  subjoin  the  following  account  of  this  little 


106  HANSFORD: 

masque  which  was  prepared  for  the  happy  occasion  by 
Alfred  Bernard,  aided  by  the  grave  chaplain,  Arthur 
Hutchinson,  and  performed  by  some  of  the  gay  gallants 
and  blooming  damsels  of  old  Jamestown.  We  flatly 
disclaim  in  the  outset  any  participation  in  the  resent- 
ment or  contempt  which  was  felt  by  these  loyal  Yirginians 
towards  the  puritan  patriots  of  the  revolution. 

The  curtain  rises  and  discovers  the  genius  of  True 
Liberty,  robed  in  white,  with  a  wreath  of  myrtle  around 
her  brow;  holding  in  her  right  hand  a  sceptre  entwined 
with  myrtle,  as  the  emblem  of  peace,  and  in  her  left  a  sprig 
of  evergreen,  to  represent  the  fabled  Moly*  of  Ulysses. 
As  she  advances  to  slow  and  solemn  music,  she  kneels  at 
an  altar  clothed  with  black  velvet,  and  raising  her  eyes  to 
heaven,  she  exclaims  : — 

"  How  long,  oh  Heaven  !  shall  power  with  impious  hand 
In  cruel  bondage  bind  proud  Britain's  land, 
Or  heresy  in  fair  Religion's  robe 
Usurp  her  empire  and  control  the  globe ! — 
Hypocrisy  in  true  Religion's  name 
Has  filled  the  land  of  Britain  long  with  shame, 
And  Freedom,  captive,  languishes  in  chains, 
While  with  her  sceptre,  Superstition  reigns. 

Restore,  oh  Heaven !  the  reign  of  peace  and  love, 
And  let  thy  wisdom  to  thy  people  prove 
That  Freedom  too  is  governed  by  her  rules, — 
No  toy  for  children,  and  no  game  for  fools ; — 
±'reed  from  restraint  the  erring  star  would  fly 
Darkling,  and  guideless,  through  the  untravelled  sky — 
The  stubborn  soil  would  still  refuse  to  yield 
The  whitening  harvest  of  the  fertile  field ; 
The  wanton  winds,  when  loosened  from  their  caves, 
Would  drive  the  bark  uncertain  through  the  waves — 

*  The  intelligent  reader,  familiar  with  the  Odyssey,  need  not  to  bo 
reminded  that  with  this  wand  of  Moly,  which  Mercury  presented  to 
Ulysses,  the  Grecian  hero  was  enabled  to  restore  his  unhappy  com- 
panions, who,  by  the  magic  of  the  goddess  Circe,  had  been  transformed 
into  swine. 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.         107 

This  magnet  lost,  the  sea,  the  air,  the  world, 
To  wild  destruction  would  be  swiftly  hurled ! 
And  say,  just  Heaven,  oh  say,  is  feeble  man 
Alone  exempt  from  thy  harmonious  plan  ? 
Shall  he  alone,  in  dusky  darkness  grope, 
Free  from  restraint,  and  free,  alas  !  from  hope  ? 
Slave  to  his  passions,  his  unbridled  will, 
Slave  to  himself,  and  yet  a  freeman  still  ? 
No  !  teach  him  in  his  pride  to  own  that  he 
Can  only  in  obedience  be  free — 
That  even  he  can  only  safely  move, 
When  true  to  loyalty,  and  true  to  love." 

As  she  speaks,  a  bright  star  appears  at  the  farther  end 
of  the  stage,  and  ascending  slowly,  at  length  stands  over 
the  altar,  where  she  kneels.  Extending  her  arm  towards 
the  star,  she  rises  and  cries  in  triumph  : — 

"  I  hail  the  sign,  pure  as  the  starry  gem, 
Which  rested  o'er  the  babe  of  Bethlehem — 
My  prayer  is  heard,  and  Heaven's  sublime  decree 
Will  rend  our  chains,  and  Britain  shall  be  free  I" 

Then  enters  the  embodiment  of  Puritanism,  represented 
in  the  peculiar  dress  of  the  Roundheads — with  peaked  hat, 
a  quaint  black  doublet  and  cloak,  rigidly  plain,  and  cut  in 
the  straight  fashion  of  the  sect ;  black  Flemish  breeches, 
and  grey  hose ;  huge  square-toed  shoes,  tied  with  coarse 
leather  thongs ;  and  around  the  waist  a  buff  leather  belt,  in 
which  he  wears  a  sword.  He  comes  in  singing,  as  he  walks, 
one  of  the  Puritan  versions,  or  rather  perversions  of  the 
Psalms,  which  have  so  grossly  marred  the  exquisite  beauty 
of  the  original,  and  of  which  one  stanza  will  suffice  the 
reader : — 

"Arise,  oh  Lord,  save  me,  my  God, 
For  thou  my  foes  hast  stroke, 
All  on  the  cheek-bone,  and  the  teeth 
Of  wicked  men  hast  broke."* 

*  A  true  copy  from  the  records. 


108  HANSFORD: 

Then  standing  at  some  distance  from  the  altar,  he  rolls  up 
his  eyes,  till  nothing  but  the  whites  can  be  seen,  and  is 
exercised  in  prayer.  With  a  smile  of  bitter  contempt  the 
genius  of  True  Liberty  proceeds : — 

"  See  where  he  comes,  with  visage  long  and  grim, 
Whining  with  nasal  twang  his  impious  hymn  ! 
See  where  he  stands,  nor  bows  the  suppliant  knee, 
He  apes  the  Publican,  but  acts  the  Pharisee — 
Snatching  the  sword  of  just  Jehovah's  wrath, 
And  damning  all  who  leave  his  thorny  path. 

Now  by  this  wand  which  Hermes,  with  a  smile, 
Gave  to  Ulysses  in  the  Circean  isle, 
I  will  again  exert  the  power  divine, 
And  change  to  Britons  these  disgusting  swine." 

She  waves  the  sprig  of  Moly  over  the  head  of  the  Puri- 
tan three  or  four  times,  who,  sensible  of  the  force  of  the 
charm,  cries  out : — 

"  Hah!  what  is  this  !  strange  feelings  fill  my  heart; 
Avaunt  thee,  tempter !  I  defy  thy  art — 
Up,  Israel !  hasten  to  your  tents,  and  smite 
These  sons  of  Belial,  and  th'  Amalekite, — 
Philistia  is  upon  us  with  GoTtah, 
Come,  call  the  roll  from  twelfth  of  Nehemiah,* 
Gird  up  your  loins  and  buckle  on  your  sword, 
Fight  with  your  prayers,  your  powder,  and  the  word. 
How,  General  '  Faint-not,'  f  has  your  spirit  sunk  ? 
Let  not  God's  soldier  yield  unto  a  Monk."J 

Then,  as  the  charm  increases,  he  continues  in  a  feebler 
voice  : 

*  "Cromwell,"  says  an  old  writer,  "hath  beat  up  his  drums  clean 
through  the  Old  Testament.  You  may  learn  the  genealogy  of  our  Saviour 
by  the  names  of  his  regiment.  The  muster-master  has  no  other  list  than 
the  first  chapter  of  St.  Matthew."  If  the  Puritan  sergeant  had  lost  this 
roll,  Nehemiah  XII.  would  serve  him  instead. 

f  The  actual  name  of  one  of  the  Puritans. 

J  General  Monk,  the  restorer  of  royalty. 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          109 

"  Curse  on  the  tempter's  art !  that  heathenish  Moly 
Has  in  an  instant  changed  my  nature  wholly ; 
The  past,  with  all  its  triumphs,  is  a  trance, 
My  legs,  once  taught  to  kneel,  incline  to  dance, 
My  voice,  which  to  some  holy  psalm  belongs, 
Is  twisting  round  into  these  carnal  songs. 
Alas  !  I'm  lost !     New  thoughts  my  bosom  swell; 
Habakuk,  Barebones,  Cromwell,  fare  ye  well. 
Break  up  conventicles,  I  do  insist, 
Sing  the  doxology  and  be  dismissed." 

As  he  finishes  the  last  line,  the  heavy  roll  of  thunder  is 
heard,  and  suddenly  the  doors  of  a  dungeon  in  the  back- 
ground fly  open,  from  which  emerges  the  impersonation  of 
Christmas,  followed  by  the  Queen  of  May.  Christmas  is 
represented  by  a  jolly,  round-bellied,  red-nosed,  laughing 
old  fellow,  dressed  in  pure  white.  His  hair  is  thickly  pow- 
dered, and  his  face  red  with  rouge.  In  his  right  hand  he 
holds  a  huge  mince-pie,  which  ever  and  anon  he  gnaws  with 
exquisite  humour,  and  in  his  left  is  a  bowl  of  generous  was- 
sail, from  which  he  drinks  long  and  deeply.  His  brows  are 
twined  with  misletoe  and  ivy,  woven  together  in  a  fantastic 
wreath,  and  to  his  hair  and  different  parts  of  his  dress  are 
attached  long  pendants  of  glass,  to  represent  icicles.  As 
he  advances  to  the  right  of  the  stage,  there  descends  from 
the  awning  above  an  immense  number  of  small  fragments 
of  white  paper,  substitutes  for  snow-flakes,  with  which  that 
part  of  the  floor  is  soon  completely  covered. 

The  Queen  of  May  takes  her  position  on  the  left.  She 
is  dressed  in  a  robe  of  pure  white,  festooned  with  flowers, 
with  a  garland  of  white  roses  twined  with  evergreen  upon 
her  brow.  In  her  hand  is  held  the  May-pole,  adorned  with 
ribbons  of  white,  and  blue,  and  red,  alternately  wrapped 
around  it,  and  surmounted  with  a  wreath  of  various  flowers. 
As  she  assumes  her  place,  showers  of  roses  descend  from 
above,  envelope  her  in  their  bloom,  and  shed  a  fresh  fra- 
grance around  the  room. 

10 


110  HANSFORD: 

The   Genius   of    Liberty  points   out    the   approaching 
figures  to  the  Puritan,  and  exclaims  : 

"  Welcome,  ye  happy  children  of  the  earth, 
Who  strew  life's  weary  way  with  guileless  mirth ! 
Thus  Joy  should  ever  herald  in  the  morn 
On  which  the  Saviour  of  the  world  was  born, 
And  thus  with  rapture  should  we  ever  bring 
Fresh  flowers  to  twine  around  the  brow  of  Spring. 
Think  not,  stern  mortal,  God  delights  to  scan, 
With  fiendish  joy,  the  miseries  of  man  ; 
Think  not  the  groans  that  rend  your  bosom  here 
Are  music  to  Jehovah's  listening  ear. 
Formed  by  His  power,  the  children  of  His  love, 
Man's  happiness  delights  the  Sire  above  ; 
While  the  light  mirth  which  from  his  spirit  springs 
Ascends  like  incense  to  the  King  of  kings." 

Christmas,  yawning  and  stretching  himself,  then  roars  out 
in  a  merry,  lusty  voice  : 

"My  spirit  rejoices  to  hear  merry  voices, 
With  a  prospect  of  breaking  my  fast, 
For  with  such  a  lean  platter,  these  days  they  call  latter* 
Were  very  near  being  my  last. 

"  In  that  cursed  conventicle,  as  chill  as  an  icicle, 

I  caught  a  bad  cold  in  my  head, 
And  some  impudent  vassal  stole  all  of  my  wassail, 
And  left  me  small  beer  in  its  stead. 

"  Of  all  that  is  royal  and  all  that  is  loyal 

They  made  a  nice  mess  of  mince-meat, 

With  their  guns  and  gunpowder,  and  their  prayers  that  are  louder, 
But  the  de'il  a  mince-pie  did  I  eat. 

"  No  fat  sirloin  carving,  I  scarce  kept  from  starving. 

And  my  bones  have  become  almost  bare, 
As  if  I  were  the  season  of  the  gunpowder  treason, 
To  be  hallowed  with  fasting  and  prayer. 

*  The  Puritans  believed  the  period  of  the  revolution  to  be  the  latter 
days  spoken  of  in  prophecy. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         Ill 

"  If  they  fancy  pulse  diet,  like  the  Jews  they  may  try  it, 

Though  I  think  it  is  fit  but  to  die  on. 
But  may  the  Euiauuel  long  keep  this  new  Daniel 
From  the  den  of  the  brave  British  Lion. 

"In  the  juice  of  the  barley  I'll  drink  to  King  Charley, 

The  bright  star  of  royalty  risen, 

While  merry  maids  laughing  and  honest  men  quaffing 
Shall  welcome  old  Christmas  from  prison." 

As  he  thunders  out  the  last  stave  of  his  song,  the  Queen 
of  May  steps  forward,  and  sings  the  following  welcome  to 
Spring  : 

"  Come  with  blooming  cheek,  Aurora, 

Leading  on  the  merry  morn; 
Come  with  rosy  chaplets,  Flora, 
See,  the  baby  Spring  is  born. 

"  Smile  and  sing  each  living  creature, 

Britons,  join  me  in  the  strain ; 

Lo !  the  Spring  is  come  to  Nature, 

Come  to  Albion's  land  again. 

"  Winter's  chains  of  icy  iron 

Melt  before  the  smile  of  Spring; 
Cares  that  Albion's  land  environ 
Fade  before  our  rising  king. 

"  Crown  his  brow  with  freshest  flowers, 

Weave  the  chaplet  fair  as  May, 
While  the  sands  with  golden  hours 
Speed  his  happy  life  away. 

"  Crown  his  brow  with  leaves  of  laurel, 

Twined  with  myrtle's  branch  of  peace — 
A  hero  in  fair  Britain's  quarrel, 
A  lover  when  her  sorrows  cease. 

"  Blessings  on  our  royal  master, 

Till  in  death  he  lays  him  down, 

Free  from  care  and  from  disaster, 

To  assume  a  heavenly  crown." 


1 1  2  HANSFORD  : 

As  she  concludes  her  lay,  she  places  the  May-pole  in 
the  centre  of  the  stage,  and  a  happy  throng  of  gay  young 
swains  and  damsels  enter  and  commence  the  maiu  dance 
around  it.  The  Puritan  watches  them  at  first  with  a  wild 
gaze,  in  which  horror  is  mingled  with  something  of  admi- 
ration. Gradually  his  stern  features  relax  into  2,  grim  smile, 
and  at  last,  unable  longer  to  restrain  his  feelings,  he  bursts 
forth  in  a  most  immoderate  and  carnal  laugh.  His  feet  at 
first  keep  time  to  the  gay  music ;  he  then  begins  to 
shuffle  them  grotesquely  on  the  floor,  and  finally,  overcome 
by  the  wild  spirit  of  contagion,  he  unites  in  the  dance  to 
the  sound  of  the  merry  rebecks.  While  the  dance  con- 
tinues, he  shakes  off  the  straight-laced  puritan  dress  which 
he  had  assumed,  aud  tossing  the  peaked  hat  high  in  the  air, 
appears,  amid  the  deafening  shouts  of  the  delighted  audi- 
tory, in  the  front  of  the  stage  in  the  rich  costume  of  the 
English  court,  and  with  a  royal  diadem  upon  his  brow, 
the  mimic  impersonation  of  Charles  the  Second. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          113 


CHAPTER  XYL 

"  I  charge  you,  oh  women !  for  the  love  you  bear  to  men,  to  like  as 
much  of  this  play  as  please  you ;  and  I  charge  you,  oh  men !  for  the  love 
you  bear  to  women,  (as  I  perceive  by  your  simpering,  none  of  you  hate 
them,)  that  between  you  and  the  women  the  play  may  please." 

As  you  Like  It, 

"  There  is  the  devil  haunts  thee,  in  the  likeness  of  a  fat  old  man ;  a 
tun  of  man  is  thy  companion."  Henry  IV. 

THE  good-natured  guests  at  the  Governor's  awarded  all 
due,  and  more  than  due  merit  to  the  masque  which  was 
prepared  for  their  entertainment.  Alfred  Bernard  became 
at  once  the  hero  of  the  evening,  and  many  a  bright  eye 
glanced  towards  him,  and  envied  the  fair  Virginia  the 
exclusive  attention  which  he  paid  to  her.  Some  young 
cavaliers  there  were,  whose  envy  carried  them  so  far,  that 
they  sneered  at  the  composition  of  the  young  poet;  de- 
clared the  speeches  of  Liberty  to  be  prosy  and  tiresome ; 
and  that  the  song  of  Christmas  was  coarse,  rugged,  and 
devoid  of  wit ;  nay,  they  laughed  at  the  unnatural  trans- 
formation of  the  grim-visaged  Puritan  into  the  royal 
Charles,  and  referred  sarcastically  to  the  pretentious  pe- 
dantry of  the  young  author,  in  introducing  the  threadbare 
story  of  Ulysses  and  the  Moly  into  a  modern  production 
— and  at  the  inconsistent  jumble  of  ancient  mythology  and 
pure  Christianity.  Bernard  heard  them  not,  and  if  he 
had,  he  would  have  scorned  their  strictures,  instead  of 
resenting  them.  But  he  was  too  much  engrossed  in  con- 
versation with  Virginia  to  heed  either  the  good-natured 
applause  of  his  friends,  or  the  peevish  jealousy  of  his 
young  rivals.  Indeed,  the  loyalty  of  the  piece  amply 
10* 


114  HANSFOED: 

atoned  for  all  its  imperfections,  and  the  old  colonists 
smiled  and  nodded  their  heads,  delighted  at  the  whole- 
some tone  of  sentiment  which  characterized  the  whole 
production. 

The  character  of  Christmas  was  well  sustained  by 
Richard  Presley,*  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
whose  jolly  good  humour,  as  broad  sometimes  as  his 
portly  stomach,  fitted  him  in  an  eminent  degree  for  the 
part.  He  was  indeed  one  of  those  merry  old  wags,  who, 
in  an  illustrated  edition  of  Milton,  might  have  appeared 
in  L'Allegro,  to  represent  the  idea  of  "  Laughter  holding 
both  his  sides." 

Seeing  Sir  William  Berkeley  and  Colonel  Temple  en- 
gaged in  earnest  conversation,  in  one  corner  of  the  room, 
the  old  burgess  bustled,  or  rather  waddled  up  to  them,  and 
remaining  quiet  just  long  enough  to  hear  the  nature  of 
their  conversation  chimed  in,  with, 

"Talking  about  Bacon,  Governor?  Why  he  is  only 
imitating  old  St.  Albans,  and  trying  to  establish  a  novum 
organum  in  Virginia.  By  God,  it  seems  to  me  that  Sir 
Nicholas  exhausted  the  whole  of  his  mediocria  firma 
policy,  and  left  none  of  it  to  his  kinsmen.  Do  you  not 
know  what  he  meant  by  that  motto,  Governor  ?" 

"No;"  said  Sir  William,  smiling  blandly. 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you,  and  add  another  wrinkle  to  your 
face.  Mediocria  firma,  when  applied  to  Bacon,  means 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  sound  middlings.  But  I  tell 
you  what,  this  young  mad-cap,  Bacon,  will  have  to  adopt 
the  motto  of  another  namesake  of  his,  and  ancestor,  per- 
haps, for  friars  aye  regarded  their  tithes  more  favourably 
than  their  vows  of  virtue — and  were  fathers  in  the  church 
as  well  by  the  first  as  the  second  birth. " 


*  This  jovial  old  colonist  is  referred  to  in  the  T.  M.  account  of  the 
Rebellion. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          115 

"What  ancestor  do  you  allude  to  now,  Dick?"  asked 
the  Governor. 

"  Why,  old  Friar  Bacon,  who  lamented  that  time  was, 
time  is,  and  time  will  be.  And  to  my  mind,  when  time 
shall  cease  with  our  young  squealing  porker  here,  we  will 
e'en  substitute  hemp  in  its  stead." 

"  Thou  art  a  mad  wag,  Presley,"  said  the  Governor, 
laughing,  "  and  seem  to  have  sharpened  thy  wit  by  strap- 
ping it  on  the  Bible  containing  the  whole  Bacon  genealogy. 
Come,  Temple,  let  me  introduce  to  your  most  favourable 
acquaintance,  Major  Richard  Presley,  the  Falstaff  of  Vir- 
ginia,  with  as  big  a  paunch,  and  if  not  as  merry  a  wit,  at 
least  as  great  a  love  for  sack — aye,  Presley  ?" 

"  Yes,  but  indifferent  honest,  Governor,  which  I  fear  my 
great  prototype  was  not,"  replied  the  old  wag,  as  he  shook 
hands  with  Colonel  Temple. 

"  Well,  I  believe  you  can  be  trusted,  Dick,"  said  the 
Governor,  kindly,  "  and  I  may  yet  give  you  a  regiment  of 
foot  to  quell  this  modern  young  Hotspur  of  Virginia. " 

"Aye,  that  would  be  rare  fun,"  said  Presley,  with  a 
merry  laugh,  "  but  look  ye,  I  must  take  care  to  attack  him 
in  as  favourable  circumstances  as  the  true  Falstaff  did,  or 
'sblood  he  might  embowell  me. " 

"  I  would  like  to  own  the  tobacco  that  would  be  raised 
over  your  grave  then,  Dick,"  said  the  Governor,  laughing, 
"  but  never  fear  but  I  will  supply  you  with  a  young  Prince 
Hal,  as  merry,  as  wise,  and  as  brave." 

"  ^hich  is  he,  then  ?  for  I  can't  tell  your  true  prince  by 
instinct  yet." 

"There  he  stands  talking  to  Miss  Virginia  Temple.  You 
know  him,  Colonel  Temple,  and  I  trust  that  you  have  not 
found  that  ray  partiality  has  overrated  his  real  merit." 

"By  no  means,"  returned  Temple;  "I  never  saw  a 
young  man  with  whom  I  was  more  pleased.  He  is  at 
once  so  ingenuous  and  frank,  and  so  intelligent  and  just 


116  HANSFORD: 

in  his  views  and  opinions  on  all  subjects — who  is  he,  Sir 
William  ?  One  would  judge,  from  his  whole  mien  and 
appearance,  that  noble  blood  ran  in  his  veins." 

"  I  believe  not,"  replied  Berkeley,  "  or  if  so,  as  old  Pres- 
ley would  say,  he  was  hatched  in  the  nest  where  some  noble 
eagle  went  a  birding.  I  am  indebted  to  my  brother,  Lord 
Berkeley,  for  both  my  chaplain  and  my  private  secretary. 
Good  Parson  Hutchinson  seems  to  have  been  the  guar- 
dian of  Bernard  in  his  youth,  but  what  may  be  the  real 
relation  between  them  I  am  unable  to  say." 

"  Perhaps,  like  Major  Presley's  old  Friar  Bacon,"  said 
Temple,  "the  good  parson  may  have  been  guilty  of  some 
indiscretion  in  his  youth,  for  which  he  would  now  atone  by 
his  kindness  to  the  offspring  of  his  early  crime." 

"Hardly  so,"  replied  the  Governor,  "or  he  would  pro- 
bably acknowledge  him  openly  as  his  son,  without  all  this 
mystery.  I  have  several  times  hinted  at  the  subject  to  Mr. 
Hutchinson,  but  it  seems  to  produce  so  much  real  sorrow, 
that  I  have  never  pushed  my  inquiries  farther.  All  that  I 
know  is  what  I  tell  you,  that  my  brother,  in  whose  parish 
this  Mr.  Hutchinson  long  officiated  as  rector,  recommended 
him  to  me — and  the  young  man,  who  has  been  thoroughly 
educated  by  his  patron,  or  guardian,  by  the  same  recom- 
mendation, has  been  made  my  private  secretary. " 

"  He  is  surely  worthy  to  fill  some  higher  post,"  said 
Temple. 

"  And  he  will  not  want  my  aid  in  building  up  his  for- 
tunes," returned  Berkeley;  "but  they  have  only  been  in 
the  colony  about  six  months  as  yet — and  the  young  man 
has  entwined  himself  about  my  heart  like  a  son.  My  own 
bed,  alas  !  is  barren,  as  you  know,  and  it  seems  that  a  kind 
providence  had  sent  this  young  man  here  as  a  substitute 
for  the  offspring  which  has  been  denied  to  me.  See  Tem- 
ple," he  added,  in  a  whisper,  "  with  what  admiring  eyes  he 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.         lit 

regards  your  fair  daughter.  And  if  an  old  man  may  judge 
of  such  matters,  it  is  with  maiden  modesty  returned." 

"I  think  that  you  are  at  fault,"  said  Temple,  with  a 
sigh  ;  "  my  daughter's  affections  are  entirely  disengaged  at 
present." 

"  Well,  time  will  develope  which  of  us  is  right.  It  would 
be  a  source  of  pride  and  pleasure,  Harry,  if  I  could  live  to 
see  a  union  between  this,  my  adopted  boy,  and  the  daughter 
of  my  early  friend,"  said  the  old  Governor,  as  a  tear  glis- 
tened in  his  eye ;  "  but  come,  Presley,  the  dancing  has 
ceased  for  a  time,"  he  added  aloud,  "  favour  the  company 
with  a  song." 

"  Oh,  damn  it,  Governor,"  replied  the  old  burgess,  "  my 
songs  won't  suit  a  lady's  ear.  They  are  intended  for  the 
rougher  sex." 

"  Well,  never  fear,"  said  the  Governor,  "  I  will  check 
you  if  I  find  you  are  overleaping  the  bounds  of  pro- 
priety. " 

"  Yery  well,  here  goes  then — a  loyal  ditty  that  I  heard 
in  old  England,  about  five  years  agone,  while  I  was  there 
on  a  visit.  Proclaim  order,  and  join  in  the  chorus  as  many 
as  please." 

And  with  a  loud,  clear,  merry  voice,  the  old  burgess  gave 
vent  to  the  following,  which  he  sung  to  the  tune  of  the 
"  Old  and  Young  Courtier ;"  an  air  which  has  survived  even 
to  our  own  times,  though  adapted  to  the  more  modernized 
words,  and  somewhat  altered  measure  of  the  "Old  English 
Gentleman  : " — • 


"Young  Charley  is  a  merry  prince ;  he's  come  unto  his  own, 
And  long  and  merrily  may  he  fill  his  martyred  father's  throne ; 
With  merry  laughter  may  he  drown  old  Nolly's  whining  groan, 
And  when  he  dies  bequeath  his  crown  to  royal   flesh  and  bone. 

Like  a  merry  King  of  England, 

And  England's  merry  King. 


118  HANSFORD: 

"With  bumpers  full,  to  royal  Charles,  come  fill  the  thirsty  glasses, 
The  pride  of  every  loyal  heart,  the  idol  of  the  masses; 
Yet  in  the  path  of  virtue  fair,  old  Joseph  far  surpasses, 
The  merry  prince,  whose  sparkling  eye  delights  in  winsome  lasses. 
Like  a  merry  King  of  England, 
And  England's  merry  King. 

"  For  Joseph  from  dame  Potiphar,  as  holy  men  assert, 
Leaving  his  garment  in  her  hand,  did  naked  fly  unhurt; 
But  Charley,  like  an  honest  lad,  will  not  a  friend  desert, 
And  so  he  still  remains  behind,  nor  leaves  his  only  shirt. 

Like  a  merry  King  of  England, 

And  England's  merry  King. 

"  Then  here's  to  bonny  Charley,  he  is  a  prince  divine, 
He  hates  a  Puritan  as  much  as  Jews  detest  a  swine  ; 
But,  faith,  he  loves  a  shade  too  much  his  mistresses  and  wine, 
Which  makes  me  fear  that  he  will  not  supply  the  royal  line, 

With  a  merry  King  of  England, 

And  England's  merry  King." 

The  singer  paused,  and  loud  and  rapturous  was  the  ap- 
plause which  he  received,  until,  putting  up  his  hand  in  a 
deprecating  manner,  silence  was  again  restored,  and  with 
an  elaborate  impromptu,  which  it  had  taken  him  about 
two  hours  that  morning  to  spin  from  his  old  brain,  he 
turned  to  Berkeley,  and  burst  forth  again. 

"  Nor  let  this  mirror  of  the  king  by  us  remain  unsung, 
To  whom  the  hopes  of  Englishmen  in  parlous  times  have  clung : 
Let  Berkeley's  praises  still  be  heard  from  every  loyal  tongue, 
While  Bacon  and  his  hoggish  herd  be  cured,  and  then  be  hung. 
Like  young  rebels  of  the  King, 
And  the  King's  young  rebels." 

Various  were  the  comments  drawn  forth  by  the  last 
volunteer  stanza  of  the  old  loyalist.  With  lowering  looks, 
some  of  the  guests  conversed  apart  in  whispers,  for  there 
were  a  good  many  in  the  Assembly,  who,  though  not 
entirely  approving  the  conduct  of  Bacon,  were  favourably 
disposed  to  his  cause.  Sir  William  Berkeley  himself 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         119 

restrained  his  mirth  out  of  respect  for  a  venerable  old  man, 
who  stood  near  him,  and  towards  whom  many  eyes  were 
turned  in  pity.  This  was  old  Nathaniel  Bacon,  the  uncle 
of  the  young  insurgent,  and  himself  a  member  of  the  coun- 
cil. There  were  dark  rumours  afloat,  that  this  old  man  had 
advised  his  nephew  to  break  his  parole  and  fly  from  James- 
town ;  but,  although  suspicion  had  attached  to  him,  it 
could  never  be  confirmed.  Even  those  who  credited  the 
rumour  rather  respected  the  feelings  of  a  near  relative,  in 
thus  taking  the  part  of  his  kinsman,  than  censured  his  con- 
duct as  savouring  of  rebellion. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

"  And  first  she  pitched  her  voice  to  sing, 
Then  glanced  her  dark  eye  on  the  king, 
And  then  around  the  silent  ring, 
And  laughed,  and  blushed,  and  oft  did  say 
Her  pretty  oath,  by  yea  and  nay, 
She  could  not,  would  not,  durst  not  play." 

Marmion. 

"  How  did  you  like  Major  Presley's  song  ?"  said  Ber- 
nard to  Virginia,  as  he  leaned  gracefully  over  her  chair, 
and  played  carelessly  with  the  young  girl's  fan. 

"  Frankly,  Mr.  Bernard,"  she  replied,  "  not  at  all.  There 
was  only  one  thing  which  seemed  to  me  appropriate  in  the 
exhibition." 

"  And  what  was  that  ?" 

"  The  coarse  language  and  sentiment  of  the  song  com- 
ported well  with  the  singer." 


120  HANSFORD: 

"  Oh,  really,  Miss  Temple,"  returned  Bernard,  "  you  are 
too  harsh  in  your  criticism.  It  is  not  fair  to  reduce  the 
habits  and  manners  of  others  to  your  own  purer  standard 
of  excellence,  any  more  than  to  censure  the  scanty  dress  of 
your  friend  Marnalis,  which,  however  picturesque  in  itself, 
would  scarcely  become  the  person  of  one  of  these  fair  ladies 
here." 

"And  yet,"  said  Virginia,  blushing  crimson  at  the  allu- 
sion, "  there  can  be  no  other  standard  by  which  I  at  least 
can  be  governed,  than  that  established  by  my  own  taste  and 
judgment.  You  merely  asked  me  my  opinion  of  Major 
Presley's  performance ;  others,  it  is  true,  may  differ  with 
me,  but  their  decisions  can  scarcely  affect  my  own." 

"  The  fact  that  there  is  such  a  wide  variance  in  the  taste 
of  individuals,"  argued  Bernard,  "should,  however,  make 
us  cautious  of  condemning  that  which  may  be  sustained  by 
the  judgment  of  so  many.  Did  you  know,  by  the  way,  Miss 
Virginia,  that  '  habit '  and  '  custom'  are  essentially  the  same 
words  as  '  habit '  and  '  costume.'  This  fact — for  the  history 
of  a  nation  may  almost  be  read  in  the  history  of  its  lan- 
guage— should  convince  you  that  the  manners  and  customs 
of  a  people  are  as  changeable  as  the  fashions  of  their 
dress." 

"  I  grant  you,"  said  Virginia,  "  that  the  mere  manners 
of  a  people  may  change  in  many  respects ;  but  true  taste, 
when  founded  on  a  true  appreciation  of  right,  can  never 
change." 

"  Why,  yes  it  can,"  replied  her  companion,  who  delighted 
in  bringing  the  young  girl  out,  as  he  said,  and  plying  her 
with  specious  sophisms.  "  Beauty,  certainly,  is  an  abso- 
lute and  not  a  relative  emotion,  and  yet  what  is  more 
changeable  than  a  taste  in  beauty.  The  Chinese  bard  will 
write  a  sonnet  on  the  oblique  eyes,  flat  nose  and  club  feet 
of  his  saffron  Amaryllis,  while  he  would  revolt  with  horror 
from  the  fair  features  of  a  British  lassie.  Old  Uncle  Giles 


A   TALE   OF  BACON'S   REBELLION.  121 

will  tell  you  that  the  negro  of  his  Congo  coast  paints  his 
Obi  devil  white,  in  order  to  inspire  terror  in  the  hearts 
of  the  wayward  little  Eboes.  The  wild  Indians  of  Virginia 
dye  their  cheeks — " 

"  Nay,  there  you  will  not  find  so  great  a  difference  be- 
tween us,"  said  Yirginia,  interrupting  him,  as  she  pointed  to 
the  plastered  rouge  on  .Bernard's  cheek.  "  But  really,  Mr. 
Bernard,  you  can  scarcely  be  serious  in  an  opinion  so 
learnedly  argued.  You  must  acknowledge  that  right  and 
wrong  are  absolute  terms,  and  that  a  sense  of  them  is 
inherent  in  our  nature." 

"  Well  then,  seriously,  my  dear  Miss  Temple,"  replied 
Bernard,  "I  do  not  see  so  much  objection  to  the  gay  society 
of  England,  which  is  but  a  reflection  from  the  mirror  of  the 
court  of  Charles  the  Second." 

"  When  the  mirror  is  stained  or  imperfect,  Mr.  Bernard, 
the  image  that  it  reflects  must  be  distorted  too.  That 
society  which  breaks  down  the  barriers  that  a  refined  senti- 
ment has  erected  between  the  sexes,  can  never  develope  in 
its  highest  perfection  the  purity  of  the  human  heart." 

"  Well,  I  give  up  the  argument,"  said  Bernard,  "  for 
where  sentiment  is  alone  concerned,  there  is  no  more  power- 
ful advocate  than  woman.  But,  my  dear  Miss  Temple,  you 
who  have  such  a  pure  and  correct  taste  on  this  subject,  can 
surely  illustrate  your  own  idea  by  an  example.  Will  you 
not  sing  ?  I  know  you  can — your  mother  told  me  so." 

"  You  must  excuse  me,  Mr.  Bernard  ;  I  would  willingly 
oblige  you,  but  I  fear  I  could  not  trust  my  voice  among 
so  many  strangers." 

"  You  mistake  your  own  powers,"  urged  Bernard.  There 
is  nothing  easier,  believe  me,  after  the  first  few  notes  of  the 
voice,  which  sound  strangely  enough  I  confess,  than  for  any 
one  to  recover  self-possession  entirely.  I  well  remember 
the  first  time  I  attempted  to  speak  before  a  large  audience. 
When  I  arose  to  my  feet,  my  knees  trembled,  and  my  lips 
11 


122  HANSFORD : 

actually  felt  heavy  as  lead.  It  seemed  as  though  every 
drop  of  blood  in  my  system  rushed  back  to  my  heart.  The 
vast  crowd  before  me  was  nothing  but  an  immense  assem- 
blage of  eyes,  all  bent  with  the  most  burning  power  upon 
me;  and  when  at  length  I  opened  my  mouth,  and  first 
heard  the  tones  of  my  own  voice,  it  sounded  strange  and 
foreign  to  my  ear.  It  seemed  as  though  it  was  somebody 
else,  myself  and  yet  not  myself,  who  was  speaking  ;  and  my 
utterance  was  so  choked  and  discordant,  that  I  would  have 
given  worlds  if  I  could  draw  back  the  words  that  escaped 
me.  But  after  a  half  dozen  sentences,  I  became  perfectly 
composed  and  self-possessed,  and  cared  no  more  for  the 
gaping  crowd  than  for  the  idle  wind  which  I  heed  not. 
So  it  will  be  with  your  singing,  but  rest  assured  that  the 
discord  of  your  voice  will  only  exist  in  your  own  fancy. 
Now  will  you  oblige  me  ?" 

"  Indeed,  Mr.  Bernard,  I  cannot  say  that  you  have 
offered  much  inducement,"  said  Virginia,  laughing  at  the 
young  man's  description  of  his  forensic  debut.  "  Nothing 
but  the  strongest  sense  of  duty  would  impel  me  to  pass 
through  such  an  ordeal  as  that  which  you  have  described. 
Seriously  you  must  excuse  me.  I  cannot  sing." 

"  Oh  yes  you  can,  my  dear,"  said  her  mother,  who  was 
standing  near,  and  heard  the  latter  part  of  the  conversa- 
tion. "  What's  the  use  of  being  so  affected  about  it !  You 
know  you  can  sing,  my  dear — and  I  like  to  see  young 
people  obliging." 

"  That's  right,  Mrs.  Temple,"  said  Bernard,  "  help  me 
to  urge  my  petition  ;  I  don't  think  Miss  Virginia  can  be 
disobedient,  even  if  it  were  in  her  power  to  be  disobliging." 

"  The  fact  is,  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  the  old  lady,  "that  the 
young  people  of  the  present  day  require  so  much  persuad- 
ing, that  its  hardly  worth  the  trouble  to  get  them  to  do  any 
thing." 

"  Well,  mother,  if  you  put  it  on  that  ground,"  said  Vir- 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         123 

ginia,  "  I  suppose  I  must  waive  my  objections  and  oblige 
you." 

So  saying,  she  rose,  and  taking  Bernard's  arm,  she  seated 
herself  at  Lady  Frances'  splendid  harp,  which  was  sent  from 
England  as  a  present  by  her  brother-in-law,  Lord  Berkeley. 
Drawing  off  her  white  gloves,  and  running  her  little  taper- 
ing fingers  over  the  strings,  Virginia  played  a  melancholy 
symphony,  which  accorded  well  with  the  sad  words  that 
came  more  sadly  on  the  ear  through  the  medium  of  her 
plaintive  voice : — 

"  Fondly  they  loved,  and  her  trusting  heart 

With  the  hopes  of  the  future  bounded, 
Till  the  trumpet  of  Freedom  condemned  them  to  part, 
And  the  knell  of  their  happiness  sounded. 

"  But  his  is  a  churl's  and  a  traitor's  choice, 

Who,  deaf  to  the  call  of  duty, 
Would  linger,  allured  by  a  syren's  voice, 
On  the  Circean  island  of  beauty. 

"  His  country  called !  he  had  heard  the  sound, 
And  kissed  the  pale  cheek  of  the  maiden, 
Then  staunched  with  his  blood  his  country's  wound, 
And  ascended  in  glory  to  Aidenn. 

"  The  shout  of  victory  lulled  him  to  sleep 
The  slumber  that  knows  no  dreaming, 
But  a  martyr's  reward  he  will  proudly  reap, 
In  the  grateful  tears  of  Freemen. 

"  And  long  shall  the  maidens  remember  her  love, 

And  heroes  shall  dwell  on  his  story; 
She  died  in  her  constancy  like  the  lone  dove, 
But  he  like  an  eagle  in  glory. 

"  Oh  let  the  dark  cypress  mourn  over  her  grave, 

And  light  rest  the  green  turf  upon  her ; 
While  over  his  ashes  the  laurel  shall  wave, 
For  he  sleeps  in  the  proud  bed  of  honour." 


124  HANSFORD: 

'The  reader  need  not  be  told  that  this  simple  little  ballad 
derived  new  beauty  from  the  feeling  with  which  Virginia 
sang  it.  The  remote  connection  of  its  story  with  her  own 
love  imparted  additional  sadness  to  her  sweet  voice,  and 
as  she  dwelt  on  the  last  line,  her  eyes  filled  with  tears  and 
her  voice  trembled.  Bernard  marked  the  eifect  which  had 
been  produced,  and  a  thrill  of  jealousy  shot  through  his 
heart  at  seeing  this  new  evidence  of  the  young  girl's  con- 
stancy. 

But  while  he  better  understood  her  feelings  than  others 
around  her,  all  admired  the  plaintive  manner  in  which  she 
had  rendered  the  sentiment  of  the  song,  and  attributed  her 
emotion  to  her  own  refined  appreciation  and  taste.  Many 
were  the  compliments  which  were  paid  to  the  fair  young 
minstrel  by  old  and  young;  by  simpering  beaux  and 
generous  maidens.  Sir  William  Berkeley,  himself,  gal- 
lantly kissed  her  cheek,  and  said  that  Lady  Frances  might 
well  be  jealous  of  so  fair  a  rival ;  and  added,  that  if  he 
were  only  young  again,  Windsor  Hall  might  be  called 
upon  to  yield  its  fair  inmate  to  adorn  the  palace  of  the 
Governor  of  Virginia. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         125 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

"  Give  me  more  love  or  more  disdain, 

The  torrid  or  the  frozen  zone ; 
Bring  equal  ease  unto  my  pain, 

The  temperate  affords  me  none  ; 
Either  extreme  of  love  or  hate, 
Is  sweeter  than  a  calm  estate." — Thomas  Carew. 

WHILE  Virginia  thus  received  the  meed  of  merited 
applause  at  the  hands  of  all  who  were  truly  generous, 
there  were  some  then,  as  there  are  many  now,  in  whose 
narrow  and  sterile  hearts  the  success  of  another  is  ever  a 
sufficient  incentive  to  envy  and  depreciation.  Among 
these  was  a  young  lady,  who  had  hitherto  been  the  espe- 
cial favourite  of  Alfred  Bernard,  and  to  whom  his  atten- 
tions had  been  unremittingly  paid.  This  young  lady,  Miss 
Matilda  Bray,  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  councillors, 
vented  her  spleen  and  jealousy  in  terms  to  the  following 
purport,  in  a  conversation  with  the  amiable  and  accom- 
plished Caroline  Ballard. 

"  Did  you  ever,  Caroline,  see  any  thing  so  forward  as 
that  Miss  Temple  ?" 

"  I  am  under  a  different  impression,"  replied  her  com- 
panion. "  I  was  touched  by  the  diffidence  and  modesty  of 
her  demeanor." 

"I  don't  know  what  you  call  diffidence  and  modesty; 
screeching  here  at  the  top  of  her  voice  and  drowning  every 
body's  conversation.  Do  you  think,  for  instance,  that  you 
or  I  would  presume  to  sing  in  as  large  a  company  as  this 
— with  every  body  gazing  at  us  like  a  show." 

"  No,  my  dear  Matilda,  I  don't  think  that  we  would. 
First,  because  no  one  would  be  mad  enough  to  ask  us ; 
11* 


126  HANSFORD: 

and,  secondly,  because  if  we  did  presume,  every  body  would 
be  stopping  their  ears,  instead  of  admiring  us  with  their 
eyes." 

"  Speak  for  yourself,"  retorted  Matilda.  "  I  still  hold 
to  my  opinion,  that  it  was  impertinent  to  be  stopping  other 
people's  enjoyment  to  listen  to  her." 

"  On  the  contrary,  I  thought  it  a  most  welcome  inter- 
ruption, and  I  believe  that  most  of  the  guests,  as  well  as 
Sir  William  Berkeley,  himself,  concurred  with  me  in 
opinion." 

"  Well,  I  never  saw  any  body  so  spiteful  as  you've  grown 
lately,  Caroline.  There's  no  standing  you.  I  suppose  you 
will  say  next  that  this  country  girl  is  beautiful  too,  with  her 
cotton  head  and  blue  china  eyes." 

"I  am  a  country  girl  myself,  Matilda,"  returned  Caro- 
line, "  and  as  for  the  beauty  of  Miss  Temple,  whatever  I 
may  think,  I  believe  that  our  friend,  Mr.  Bernard,  is  of  that 
opinion." 

"  Oh,  you  needn't  think,  with  your  provoking  laugh,"  said 
Miss  Bray,  "  that  I  care  a  fig  for  Mr.  Bernard's  attention 
to  her." 

"  I  didn't  say  so." 

"  No,  but  you  thought  so,  and  you  know  you  did  ;  and 
what's  more,  it's  too  bad  that  you  should  take  such  a  delight 
in  provoking  me.  I  believe  it's  all  jealousy  at  last." 

"  Jealousy,  my  dear  Matilda,"  said  her  companion,  "  is  a 
jaundiced  jade,  that  thinks  every  object  is  of  its  own  yel- 
low colour.  But  see,  the  dance  is  about  to  commence 
again,  and  here  comes  my  partner.  You  must  excuse  me." 
And  with  a  smile  of  conscious  beauty,  Caroline  Ballard 
gave  her  hand  to  the  handsome  young  gallant  who  ap- 
proached her." 

Bernard  and  Virginia,  too,  rose  from  their  seats,  but,  to 
the  surprise  of  Matilda  Bray,  they  did  not  take  their  places 
in  the  dance,  but  walked  towards  the  door.  Bernard  saw 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          12t 

how  his  old  flame  was  writhing  with  jealousy,  and  as  he 
passed  her  he  said,  maliciously, 

"  Good  evening,  Miss  Matilda ;  I  hope  you  are  enjoying 
the  ball." 

"Oh,  thank  you,  exceedingly,"  said  Miss  Bray,  patting 
her  foot  hysterically  on  the  floor,  and  darting  from  her  fine 
black  eyes  an  angry  glance,  which  gave  the  lie  to  her  words. 

Leaving  her  to  digest  her  spleen  at  her  leisure,  the  hand- 
some pair  passed  out  of  the  ball-room  and  into  the  lawn. 
It  was  already  thronged  with  merry,  laughing  young  peo- 
ple, who,  wearied  with  dancing,  were  promenading  through 
the  gravelled  walks,  or  sitting  on  the  rural  benches, 
arranged  under  the  spreading  trees. 

"  Oh,  this  is  really  refreshing,"  said  the  young  girl,  as 
she  smoothed  back  her  tresses  from  her  brow,  to  enjoy  the 
delicious  river  breeze.  "  Those  rooms  were  very  oppres- 
sive." 

"I  scarcely  found  them  so,"  said  Bernard,  gallantly; 
"  for  when  the  mind  is  agreeably  occupied  we  soon  learn  to 
forget  any  inconvenience  to  which  the  body  may  be  sub- 
jected. But  I  knew  you  would  enjoy  a  walk  through  this 
fine  lawn." 

"  Oh,  indeed  I  do ;  and  truly,  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  the 
ingenuous  girl,  "  I  have  much  to  thank  you  for.  Nearly  a 
stranger  in  Jamestown,  you  have  made  my  time  pass  hap- 
pily away,  though  I  fear  you  have  deprived  yourself  of  the 
society  of  others  far  more  agreeable." 

"  My  dear  Miss  Temple,  I  will  not  disguise  from  you, 
even  to  retain  your  good  opinion  of  my  generosity,  the  fact 
that  my  attention  has  not  been  so  disinterested  as  you  sup- 
pose." 

"  I  thank  you,  sir,"  said  Virginia,  "for  the  compliment; 
but  I  am  afraid  that  I  have  not  been  so  agreeable,  in  return 
for  your  civility,  as  I  should.  You  were  witness  to  a  scene, 
Mr,  Bernard,  which  would  make  it  useless  to  deny  that  I 


128  HANSFORD: 

have   much  reason  to  be   sad ;    and  it  makes  me  more 
unhappy  to  think  that  I  may  affect  others  by  my  gloom." 

"  I  know  to  what  you  allude,"  replied  Bernard,  "  and  be- 
lieve me,  fair  girl,  sweeter  to  me  is  this  sorrow  in  your  young 
heart,  than  all  the  gaudy  glitter  of  those  vain  children  of 
fashion  whom  we  have  left.  But,  alas !  I  myself  have 
much  cause  to  be  sad — the  future  looms  darkly  before  me, 
and  I  see  but  little  left  in  life  to  make  it  long  desirable." 

"Oh,  say  not  so,"  said  Virginia,  moved  by  the  air  of 
deep  melancholy  which  Bernard  had  assumed,  but  mistaking 
its  cause.  "  You  are  young  yet,  and  the  future  should  be 
bright.  You  have  talents,  acquirements,  everything  to 
ensure  success ;  and  the  patronage  and  counsel  of  Sir  Wil- 
liam Berkeley  will  guide  you  in  the  path  to  honourable  dis- 
tinction. Fear  not,  my  friend,  but  trust  hopefully  in  the 
future. " 

"  There  is  one  thing,  alas !"  said  Bernard,  in  the  same 
melancholy  tone,  "  without  which  success  itself  would 
scarcely  be  desirable." 

"And  what  is  that  ?"  said  the  young  girl,  artlessly. 
"  Believe  me,  you  will  always  find  in  me,  Mr.  Bernard,  a 
warm  friend,  and  a  willing  if  not  an  able  counsellor. " 

"  But  this  is  not  all,"  cried  Bernard,  passionately.  "Does 
not  your  own  heart  tell  you  that  there  must  be  something 
more  than  friendship  to  satisfy  the  longings  of  a  true  heart  ? 
Oh,  Virginia — yes,  permit  me  to  call  you  by  a  name  now 
doubly  dear  to  me,  as  the  home  of  my  adoption  and  as  the 
object  of  my  earnest  love.  Dearest  Virginia,  sweet  though 
it  be  to  the  heart  of  a  lonely  orphan,  drifting  like  a  sailless 
vessel  in  this  rugged  world,  to  have  such  a  friend,  yet 
sweeter  far  would  it  be  to  live  in  the  sunlight  of  your  love." 

"  Mr.  Bernard  1"  exclaimed  Virginia,  with  unfeigned 
surprise. 

"  jtfay,  dearest,  do  you,  can  you  wonder  at  this  revela- 
tion ?  I  had  striven,  but  in  vain,  to  conceal  a  hope 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         129 

which  I  knew  was  too  daring.  Oh,  do  not  by  a  word  de- 
stroy the  faint  ray  which  has  struggled  so  bravely  in  my 
heart." 

"  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  Virginia,  as  she  withdrew  her  arm 
from  his,  "  I  can  no  longer  permit  this.  If  your  feelings 
be  such  as  you  profess,  and  as  I  believe  they  are — for  I 
know  your  nature  to  be  honorable — I  regret  that  I  can  only 
respect  a  sentiment  which  I  can  never  return." 

"  Oh,  say  not  thus,  my  own  Yirginia,  just  as  a  new  life 
begins  to  dawn  upon  me.  At  least  be  not  so  hasty  in  a 
sentence  which  seals  my  fate  forever." 

"  I  am  not  too  hasty,"  replied  Yirginia.  "  But  I  would 
think  myself  unworthy  of  the  love  you  have  expressed,  if  I 
held  out  hopes  which  can  never  be  realized.  You  know  my 
position  is  a  peculiar  one.  My  hand  but  not  my  heart  is 
disengaged.  Nor  could  you  respect  the  love  of  a  woman 
who  could  so  soon  forget  one  with  whom  she  had  promised 
to  unite  her  destiny  through  life.  I  have  spoken  thus  freely, 
Mr.  Bernard,  because  I  think  it  due  to  your  feelings,  and 
because  I  am  assured  that  what  I  say  is  entrusted  to  an 
honourable  man. " 

"  Indeed,  my  dear  Miss  Temple,  if  such  you  can  only  be 
to  me,"  said  her  wily  lover,  "I  do  respect  from  my  heart 
your  constancy  to  your  first  love.  That  unwavering  devo- 
tion to  another,  whom  I  esteem,  because  he  is  loved  by 
you,  only  makes  you  more  worthy  to  be  won.  May  I  not 
still  hope  that  time  may  supply  the  niche,  made  vacant  in 
your  heart,  by  another  whose  whole  life  shall  be  devoted 
to  the  one  object  of  making  you  happy  ?" 

"  Mr.  Bernard,  candour  compels  me  to  say  no,  my  friend ; 
there  are  vows  which  even  time,  with  its  destroying  hand 
can  never  erase,  and  which  are  rendered  stronger  and  more 
sacred  by  the  very  circumstances  which  prevent  their  accom- 
plishment. Fate,  my  friend,  may  interpose  her  stern  decree 
and  forever  separate  rne  from  the  presence  of  Mr.  Hans- 


130  HANSFORD: 

ford,  but  my  heart  is  still  unchangeably  his.  Ha !  what  is 
that  ?"  she  added,  with  a  faint  scream,  as  from  the  little 
summer-house,  which  we  have  before  described,  there  came 
a  deep,  prolonged  groan. 

As  she  spoke,  and  as  Bernard  laid  his  hand  upon  his 
sword  to  avenge  himself  upon  the  intruder,  a  dark  figure 
issued  from  the  door  of  the  arbor,  and  stood  before  them. 
The  young  man  stood  appalled  as  he  recognized  by  the 
uncertain  light  of  a  neighbouring  lamp,  the  dark,  swarthy 
features  of  Master  Hutchinson,  the  chaplain  of  the  Go- 
vernor. 

"  Put  up  your  sword,  young  man,"  said  the  preacher, 
gravely;  "they  who  use  the  sword  shall  perish  by  the 
sword." 

"  In  the  devil's  name,"  cried  Bernard,  forgetful  of  the 
presence  of  Virginia,  "  how  came  you  here  ?" 

"  Not  to  act  the  spy  at  least,"  said  Hutchinson,  "  such 
is  not  my  character.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  I  came  as  you 
did,  to  enjoy  this  fresh  air — and  sought  the  quiet  of  this 
arbour  to  be  free  from  the  intrusion  of  others.  I  have  lived 
too  long  to  care  for  the  frivolities  which  I  have  heard,  and 
your  secret  is  safe  in  my  breast — a  repository  of  many  a 
darker  confidence  than  that."  With  these  words  the  bent 
form  of  the  melancholy  preacher  passed  out  of  their  sight. 

"A  singular  man,"  said  Bernard,  in  a  troubled  voice, 
"but  entirely  innocent  in  his  conduct.  An  abstracted 
book-worm,  he  moves  through  the  world  like  a  stranger  in 
it.  Will  you  return  now  ?" 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Virginia,  "  most  willingly — for  I  con- 
fess my  nerves  are  a  little  unstrung  by  the  fright  I  received 
And  now,  my  friend,  pardon  me  for  referring  to  what  has 
passed,  but  you  will  still  be  my  friend,  won't  you  ?" 

"  Oh,  certainly,"  said  Bernard,  in  an  abstracted  manner. 
"  I  wonder,"  he  muttered  "what  he  could  have  meant  by 
that  hideous  groan  ?" 


A  TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  131 

And  sadly  and  silently  the  rejected  lover  and  his  unhappy 
companion  returned  to  the  heartless  throng,  who  still  lit  up 
the  palace  with  their  hollow  smiles. 

Alike  the  joyous  dance,  the  light  mirth,  and  the  splendid 
entertainment  passed  unheeded  by  Yirginia,  as  she  sat 
silently  abstracted,  and  returned  indifferent  answers  to  the 
questions  which  were  asked  her.  And  Bernard,  the  gay 
and  fascinating  Bernard,  wandered  through  the  crowd,  like 
a  troubled  spectre,  and  ever  and  anon  muttered  to  himself, 
"I  wonder  what  he  could  have  meant  by  that  hideous 
groan  ?" 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

"  His  heart  has  not  half  uttered  itself  yet, 
And  much  remains  to  do  as  well  as  they. 
The  heart  is  sometime  ere  it  finds  its  focus, 
And  when  it  does  with  the  whole  light  of  nature 
Strained  through  it  to  a  hair's  breadth,  it  but  burns 
The  things  beneath  it  which  it  lights  to  death." 

Festua. 

AND  now  the  ball  is  over.  Mothers  wait  impatiently  for 
their  fair  daughters,  who  are  having  those  many  last  words 
so  delightful  to  them,  and  so  provoking  to  those  who  await 
their  departure,  Carriages  again  drive  to  the  door,  and 
receive  their  laughing,  bright-eyed  burdens,  and  then  roll 
away  through  the  green  lawn,  while  the  lamps  throw  their 
broad,  dark  shadows  on  the  grass.  Gay  young  cavaliers, 
who  have  come  from  a  distance  to  the  ball,  exchange  their 
slippers  for  their  heavy  riding-boots  and  spurs,  and  mount 


132  HANSFORD: 

their  pawing  and  impatient  steeds.  Sober-sided  old  states- 
men walk  away  arm-in-arm,  and  discuss  earnestly  the  busi- 
ness of  the  morrow.  The  gamesters  and  dicers  depart, 
some  with  cheerful  smiles,  chuckling  over  their  gains,  and 
others  with  empty  pockets,  complaining  how  early  the 
party  had  broken  up,  and  proposing  a  renewal  of  the  game 
the  next  night  at  the  Blue  Chamber  at  the  Garter  Inn. 
Old  Presley  has  evidently,  to  use  his  own  phrase,  "  got  his 
load,"  and  waddling  away  to  his  quarters,  he  winks  his  eye 
mischievously  at  the  lamps,  which,  under  the  multiplying 
power  of  his  optics,  have  become  more  in  number  than  the 
stars.  Thus  the  guests  all  pass  away,  and  the  lights  which 
flit  for  a  few  moments  from  casement  to  casement  in  the 
palace,  are  one  by  one  extinguished,  and  all  is  dark,  save 
where  one  faint  candle  gleams  through  an  upper  window 
and  betrays  the  watchfulness  of  the  old  chaplain. 

And  who  is  he,  with  his  dark,  melancholy  eyes,  which 
tell  so  plainly  of  the  chastened  heart — he  who  seeming  so 
gentle  and  kind  to  all,  reserves  his  sternness  for  himself 
alone — and  who,  living  in  love  with  all  God's  creatures, 
seems  to  hate  with  bitterness  his  own  nature  ?  It  was  not 
then  as  it  is  sometimes  now,  that  every  man's  antecedents 
were  inquired  into  and  known,  and  that  the  young  cox- 
comb, who  disgraces  the  name  that  he  bears  and  the 
lineage  of  which  he  boasts,  is  awarded  a  higher  station 
in  society  than  the  self-sustaining  and  worthy  son  of  toil, 
who  builds  his  reputation  on  the  firmer  foundation  of  sub- 
stantial worth.  Every  ship  brought  new  emigrants  from 
England,  who  had  come  to  share  the  fate  and  to  develope 
the  destiny  of  the  new  colony,  and  who  immediately  as- 
sumed the  position  in  society  to  which  their  own  merit 
entitled  them.  And  thus  it  was,  that  when  Arthur  Hutch- 
inson  came  to  Virginia,  no  one  asked,  though  many  won- 
dered, what  had  blighted  his  heart,  and  cast  so  dark  a 
shadow  on  his  path.  There  was  one  man  in  the  colony, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          133 

and  one  alone,  who  had  known  him  before — and  yet  Alfred 
Bernard,  with  whom  he  had  come  to  Virginia,  seemed  to 
know  little  more  of  his  history  and  his  character  than  those 
to  whom  he  was  an  entire  stranger. 

Arthur  Hutchinson  was  in  appearance  about  fifty  years 
of  age.  His  long  hair,  which  had  once  been  black  as  the 
raven's  wing,  but  was  now  thickly  sprinkled  with  grey,  fell 
profusely  over  his  stooping  shoulders.  There  was  that,  too, 
in  the  deep  furrows  on  his  broad  brow,  and  in  the  expres- 
sion of  his  pale  thin  lips  which  told  that  time  and  sorrow 
had  laid  their  heavy  hands  upon  him.  As  has  been  before 
remarked,  by  the  recommendation  of  Lord  Berkeley,  which 
had  great  weight  with  his  brother,  Hutchinson  had  been 
installed  as  Chaplain  to  Sir  William,  and  through  his 
influence  with  the  vestry,  presented  to  the  church  in 
Jamestown.  Although,  with  his  own  private  resources, 
the  scanty  provision  of  sixteen  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco 
per  annum,  (rated  at  about  eighty  pounds  sterling,)  was 
ample  for  his  comfortable  support,  yet  good  Master 
Hutchinson  had  found  it  very  convenient  to  accept  Sir 
William  Berkeley's  invitation  to  make  his  home  at  the 
palace.  Here,  surrounded  by  his  books,  which  he  regarded 
more  as  cheerful  companions,  than  as  grim  instructors,  he 
passed  his  life  rather  in  inoffensive  meditation  than  in 
active  usefulness.  The  sad  and  quiet  reserve  of  his  man- 
ners, which  seemed  to  spring  from  the  memory  of  some 
past  sorrow,  that  while  it  had  ceased  to  give  pain,  was  still 
having  its  silent  effect  upon  its  victim,  made  him  the  object 
of  pity  to  all  around  him.  The  fervid  eloquence  and 
earnestness  of  his  sermons  carried  conviction  to  the  minds 
of  the  doubting,  arrested  the  attention  of  the  thoughtless 
and  the  wayward,  and  administered  the  balm  of  consolation 
to  the  afflicted  child  of  sorrow.  The  mysterious  influence 
which  he  exerted  over  the  proud  spirit  of  Alfred  Bernard, 
even  by  one  reproving  glance  from  those  big,  black,  melan- 
12 


134  HANSFORD: 

choly  eyes,  struck  all  who  knew  them  with  astonishment. 
He  took  but  little  interest  in  the  political  condition  of  the 
colony,  or  in  the  state  of  society  around  him,  and  while,  by 
this  estrangement,  and  his  secluded  life,  he  made  but  few 
warm  friends,  he  made  no  enemies.  The  good  people  of 
the  parish  were  content  to  let  the  parson  pursue  his  own 
quiet  life  undisturbed,  and  he  lost  none  of  their  respect, 
while  he  gained  much  of  their  regard  by  his  refusal  to 
make  the  influence  of  the  church  the  weapon  of  political 
warfare. 

Hutchinson,  who  had  retired  to  his  room  some  time 
before  the  guests  had  separated,  was  quietly  reading  from 
one  of  the  old  fathers,  when  his  attention  was  arrested  by 
a  low  tap  at  the  door,  which  he  at  once  recognized  as 
Bernard's.  At  the  intimation  to  come  in,  the  young  man 
entered,  and  throwing  himself  into  a  chair,  he  rested  his 
face  upon  his  hand,  and  sighed  deeply. 

''Alfred,"  said  the  preacher,  after  watching  him  for  a 
moment  in  silence,  "I  am  glad  you  have  come.  I  have 
somewhat  to  say  to  you." 

"  Well,  sir,  I  will  hear  you  patiently.  What  would  you 
say?" 

"  I  would  warn  you  against  letting  a  young  girl  divert 
you  from  the  pursuit  of  higher  objects  than  are  to  be 
attained  by  love." 

"  How,  sir  ?"  exclaimed  Bernard,  with  surprise. 

"Alfred  Bernard,  look  at  me.  Read  in  this  pale 
withered  visage,  these  sunken  cheeks,  this  bent  form,  and 
this  broken  heart,  the  brief  summary  of  a  history  which 
cannot  yet  be  fully  known.  You  have  seen  and  known 
that  I  am  not  as  other  men — that  I  walk  through  the 
world  a  stranger  here,  and  that  my  home  is  in  the  dark 
dungeon  of  my  own  bitter  thoughts.  Would  you  know 
what  has  thus  severed  the  chain  which  bound  me 
to  the  world  ?  Would  you  know  what  it  is  that  has 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          135 

blighted  a  heart  which  might  have  borne  rich  fruit,  and 
turned  it  to  ashes  ?  Would  you  know  what  is  the  vulture, 
too  cruel  to  destroy,  which  feeds  upon  this  doomed 
form  ?"  • 

"  In  God's  name,  Mr.  Hutchinson,  why  do  you  speak 
thus  wildly  ?"  said  Bernard,  for  he  had  never  before  heard 
such  language  fall  from  the  lips  of  the  reserved  and  quiet 
preacher.  "I  know  that  you  have  had  your  sorrows,  for 
the  foot-prints  of  sorrow  are  indeed  on  you,  but  I  have 
often  admired  the  stoical  philosophy  with  which  you  have 
borne  the  burden  of  care." 

"  Stoical  philosophy  !"  exclaimed  the  preacher,  pressing 
his  hand  to  his  heart.  "  The  name  that  the  world  has 
given  to  the  fire  which  burns  here,  and  whose  flame  is  never 
seen.  Think  you  the  pain  is  less,  because  all  the  heat  is 
concentrated  in  the  heart,  not  fanned  into  a  flame  by  the 
breath  of  words  ?" 

"Well,  call  it  what  you  will,"  said  Bernard,  "and  suffer 
as  you  will,  but  why  reserve  until  to-night  a  revelation 
which  you  have  so  long  refused  to  make  ?" 

"  Simply  because  to-night  I  have  seen  and  heard  that 
which  induces  me  to  warn  you  from  the  course  that  you 
are  pursuing.  Young  man,  beware  how  you  seek  your 
happiness  in  a  woman's  smile. " 

"You  must  excuse  me,  my  old  friend,"  said  Bernard, 
smiling,  "if  I  remind  you  of  an  old  adage  which  teaches 
us  that  a  burnt  child  dreads  the  fire.  If  trees  were  sentient, 
would  you  have  them  to  fly  from  the  generous  rain  of 
heaven,  by  which  they  grow,  and  live,  and  bloom,  because, 
forsooth,  one  had  been  blasted  by  the  lightning  of  the 
storm  ?" 

Hutchinson  only  replied  with  a  melancholy  shake  of  the 
head,  and  the  two  men  gazed  at  each  other  in  silence. 
Bernard,  with  all  his  sagacity  and  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  in  vain  attempted  to  read  the  secret  thoughts  of 


136  HANSFORD: 

his  old  guardian,  whose  dark  eyes,  lit  up  for  a  moment 
with  excitement,  had  now  subsided  into  the  pensive  melan- 
choly which  we  have  more  than  once  remarked.  The 
affectionate  solicitude  with  which  he  had  ever  treated 
him,  prevented  Bernard  from  being  offended  at  his  free- 
dom, and  yet,  with  a  vexed  heart,  he  vainly  strove  to  solve 
a  mystery  which  thus  seemed  to  surround  Virginia  and 
himself,  who,  until  a  few  days  before,  had  been  entire 
strangers  to  each  other. 

"Alfred  Bernard,"  said  the  old  man  at  length,  with  his 
sweet  gentle  voice,  "  do  you  remember  your  father  ?  You 
are  very  like  him." 

"  How  can  you  ask  me  such  a  question,  when  you  your- 
self have  told  me  so  often  that  I  never  saw  him." 

"  True,  I  had  forgotten,"  returned  Hutchinson,  with  a 
sigh,  "  but  your  mother  you  remember  ?" 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  the  young  man,  with  a  tear  starting 
in  his  eye,  "I  can  never  forget  her  sad,  pensive  counte- 
nance. I  have  been  a  wild,  bad  man,  Mr.  Hutchinson,  but 
often  in  my  darkest  hours,  the  memory  of  my  mother  would 
come  over  me,  as  though  her  spirit,  like  a  dove,  was  des- 
cending from  her  place  in  heaven  to  watch  over  her  boy. 
Alas  !  I  feel  that  if  I  had  followed  the  precepts  which  she 
taught  me,  I  would  now  be  a  better  and  a  happier  man." 
No  heart  is  formed  entirely  hard ;  there  are  moments  and 
memories  which  melt  the  most  obdurate  heart,  as  the  wand 
of  the  prophet  smote  water  from  the  rock.  And  Alfred 
Bernard,  with  all  his  cold  scepticism  and  selfish  nature, 
was  for  a  moment  sincerely  repentant. 

"  I  have  often  thought,  Mr.  Hutchinson,"  he  continued, 
"  that  if  it  had  pleased  heaven  to  give  me  some  near  re- 
lative on  earth,  around  whom  my  heart  could  delight  to 
cling,  I  would  have  been  a  better  man.  Some  kind  brother 
who  could  aid  and  sympathize  with  me  in  my  struggle  with 
the  world,  or  some  gentle  sister,  in  whose  love  I  could  con- 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          13t 

fide,  and  to  whose  sweet  society  I  might  repair  from  the 
bitter  trials  of  this  rugged  life ;  if  these  had  been  vouch- 
safed me,  my  heart  would  have  expanded  into  more  sympa- 
thy with  my  race  than  it  can  ever  now  feel." 

Hutchinson  smiled  sadly,  and  replied — 

"  It  has  been  my  object  in  life,  Alfred  Bernard,  to  sup- 
ply the  place  of  those  nearer  and  dearer  objects  of  affection 
which  have  been  denied  you.  I  hope  in  this  I  have  not 
been  unsuccessful." 

"  I  am  aware,  Mr.  Hutchinson,"  said  Bernard,  bitterly, 
"  that  to  you  I  am  indebted  for  my  education  and  support. 
I  hope  I  have  ever  manifested  a  becoming  sense  of  grati- 
tude, and  I  only  regret  that  in  this  alone  am  I  able  to  repay 
you." 

"And  do  you  think  that  I  wished  to  remind  you  of  your 
dependence,  Alfred  ?  Oh,  no — you  owe  me  nothing.  I 
have  discharged  towards  you  a  solemn,  a  sacred  duty,  which 
you  had  a  right  to  claim.  I  took  you,  a  little  homeless 
orphan,  and  sought  to  cultivate  your  mind  and  train  your 
heart.  In  the  first  you  have  done  more  than  justice  to  my 
tuition  and  my  care.  I  am  proud  of  the  plant  that  I  have 
reared.  But  how  have  you  repaid  me  ?  You  have  imbibed 
sentiments  and  opinions  abhorrent  to  all  just  and  moral 
men.  You  have  slighted  my  advice,  and  at  times  have  even 
threatened  the  adviser." 

"If  you  refer  to  the  difference  in  our  faith,"  said  Ber- 
nard, "  you  must  remember  that  it  was  from  your  teachings 
that  I  derived  the  warrant  to  follow  the  dictates  of  my  con- 
science and  my  reason.  If  they  have  led  me  into  error, 
you  must  charge  it  upon  these  monitors  which  God  has 
given  me.  You  cannot  censure  me." 

"  I  confess  I  am  to  blame,"  said  the  good  old  man,  with 

a  sigh.    "  But  who  could  have  thought,  that  when,  with  my 

hard  earnings,  I  had  saved  enough  to  send  you  to  France, 

in  order  to  give  you  a  more  extensive  acquaintance  with  the 

12* 


138  HANSFORD: 

world  you  were  about  to  enter — who  would  have  thought 
that  it  would  result  in  your  imbibing  such  errors  as  these  ! 
Oh,  my  son,  what  freedom  of  conscience  is  there  in  a  faith 
like  papacy,  which  binds  your  reason  to  the  will  of  another  ? 
And  what  purity  can  there  be  in  a  religion  which  you  dare 
not  avow  ?" 

"  Naaman  bowed  in  the  house  of  Rimmon,"  returned  Ber- 
nard, carelessly,  "  and  if  the  prophet  forgave  him  for  thus 
following  the  customs  of  his  nation,  that  he  might  retain  a 
profitable  and  dignified  position,  I  surely  may  be  forgiven, 
under  a  milder  dispensation,  for  suppressing  my  real  senti- 
ments in  order  to  secure  office  and  preferment. " 

"  Alas  !"  murmured  Hutchinson,  bitterly.  "  Well,  it  is  a 
sentiment  worthy  of  Edward's  son.  But  go,  my  poor  boy, 
proud  in  your  reason,  which  but  leads  you  astray — wresting 
scripture  in  order  to  justify  hypocrisy,  and  profaning  reli- 
gion with  vice.  You  shall  not  yet  want  my  prayers  that 
you  may  be  redeemed  from  error. " 

"  Well,  good  night,"  said  Bernard,  as  he  opened  the 
door.  "  But  do  me  the  justice  to  say,  that  though  I  may 
be  deceitful,  I  can  never  be  ungrateful,  nor  can  I  forget 
your  kindness  to  a  desolate  orphan."  And  so  saying,  he 
closed  the  door,  and  left  the  old  chaplain  to  the  solitude  of 
his  own  stricken  heart. 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.         139 


CHAPTER  XX. 

"  Oh,  tiger's  heart,  wrapt  in  a  woman's  hide." 

Henry  VI. 

BRIGHTLY  shone  the  sun  through  the  window  of  the 
Garter  Inn,  at  which  Virginia  Temple  sat  on  the  morning 
after  the  ball  at  Sir  William  Berkeley's  palace.  Freed  from 
the  restraints  of  society,  she  gave  her  caged  thoughts  their 
freedom,  and  they  flew  with  delight  to  Hansford.  She  re- 
proved herself  for  the  appearance  of  gaiety  which  she  had 
assumed,  white  he  was  in  so  much  danger ;  and  she  inwardly 
resolved  that,  not  even  to  please  her  mother,  would  she  be 
guilty  again  of  such  hypocrisy.  She  felt  that  she  owed 
it  to  Hansford,  to  herself,  and  to  others,  to  act  thus.  To 
Hansford,  because  his  long  and  passionate  love,  and  his 
unstained  name,  deserved  a  sacrifice  of  the  world  and  its 
joys  to  him.  To  herself,  because  sad  as  were  her  reflections 
on  the  past,  and  fearful  as  were  her  apprehensions  for  the 
future,  there  was  still  a  melancholy  pleasure  in  dwelling  on 
the  memory  of  her  love  —  far  sweeter  to  her  wounded 
heart  than  all  the  giddy  gaiety  of  the  world  around  her. 
And  to  others,  because,  but  for  her  assumed  cheerfulness, 
the  feelings  of  Alfred  Bernard,  her  generous  and  gifted 
friend,  would  have  been  spared  the  sore  trial  to  which  they 
had  been  subjected  the  night  before.  She  was  determined 
that  another  noble  soul  should  not  make  shipwreck  of  its 
happiness,  by  anchoring  its  hopes  on  her  own  broken  heart. 

Such  were  her  thoughts,  as  she  leaned  her  head  upon  her 
hand  and  gazed  out  of  the  window  at  the  throng  of  people 
who  were  hurrying  toward  the  state-house.  For  this  was 
to  be  a  great  day  in  legislation.  The  Indian  Bill  was  to 


140  HANSFOBD: 

be  up  in  committee,  and  the  discussion  would  be  an  able 
one,  in  which  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Assem- 
bly were  to  take  part.  She  had  seen  the  Governor's  car- 
riage, with  its  gold  and  trappings,  the  Berkeley  coat-of- 
arms,  and  its  six  richly  caparisoned  white  horses,  roll 
splendidly  by,  with  an  escort  of  guards,  by  which  Sir 
William  was  on  public  occasions  always  attended.  She 
had  seen  the  Burgesses,  with  their  reports,  their  petitions 
and  their  bills,  some  conversing  carelessly  and  merrily  as 
they  passed,  and  others  with  thoughtful  countenance  bent 
upon  the  ground,  cogitating  on  some  favourite  scheme  for 
extricating  the  colony  from  its  dangers.  She  had  seen 
Alfred  Bernard  pass  on  his  favourite  horse,  and  he  had 
turned  his  eyes  to  the  window  and  gracefully  saluted  her ; 
but  in  that  brief  moment  she  saw  that  the  scenes  through 
which  he  had  passed  the  night  before  were  still  in  his 
memory,  and  had  made  a  deep  impression  on  his  heart.  On 
the  plea  of  a  sick  headache,  she  had  declined  to  go  with 
her  mother  to  the  "  House,"  and  the  good  old  lady  had 
gone  alone  with  her  husband,  deploring,  as  she  went,  the 
little  interest  which  the  young  people  of  the  present  day 
took  in  the  politics  and  prosperity  of  their  country. 

While  thus  silently  absorbed  in  her  own  thoughts,  the 
attention  of  Virginia  Temple  was  arrested  by  the  door  of 
her  room  being  opened,  and  on  looking  up,  she  saw  before 
her  the  tall  figure  of  a  strange,  wild  looking  woman,  whom 
she  had  never  seen  before.  This  woman,  despite  the 
warmth  of  the  weather,  was  wrapped  in  a  coarse  red 
shawl,  which  gave  a  striking  and  picturesque  effect  to  her 
singular  appearance.  Her  features  were  prominent  and 
regular,  and  the  face  might  have  been  considered  hand- 
some if  it  were  not  for  the  exceeding  coarseness  of  her 
swarthy  skin.  Her  jet-black  hair,  not  even  confined  by  a 
comb,  was  secured  by  a  black  riband  behind,  and  passing 
over  the  right  shoulder,  fell  in  a  heavy  mass  over  her  bosom. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         141 

Her  figure  was  tall  and  straight  as  an  Indian's,  and  her  bare 
brawny  arms,  which  escaped  from  under  her  shawl,  ga\7e 
indications  of  great  physical  strength  ;  while  there  was 
that  in  the  expression  of  her  fierce  black  eye,  and  her  finely 
formed  mouth,  which  showed  that  'there  was  no  mere 
woman's  heart  in  that  masculine  form. 

The  wild  appearance  and  attire  of  the  woman  inspired 
Virginia  with  terror  at  first,  but  she  suppressed  the  scream 
which  rose  to  her  lips,  and  in  an  agitated  voice,  she  asked, 

"What  would  you  have  with  me,  madam  ?" 

"  What  are  you  frightened  at,  girl,"  said  the  woman  in  a 
shrill,  coarse  voice,  "  don't  you  see  that  I  am  a  woman  ?" 

"Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Virginia,  trembling,  "I  am  not 
frightened,  ma'am." 

"You  are  frightened — I  see  you  are,"  returned  her 
strange  guest. — "  But  if  you  fear,  you  are  not  worthy  to  be 
the  wife  of  a  brave  man — come,  deny  nothing — I  can  read 
you  like  a  book — and  easier,  for  it  is  but  little  that  I  know 
from  books,  except  my  Bible." 

"Are  you  a  gipsey,  ma'am  ?"said  Virginia,  softly,  for  she 
had  heard  her  father  speak  of  that  singular  race  of  vagrants, 
and  the  person  and  language  of  the  stranger  corresponded 
with  the  idea  which  she  had  formed  of  them. 

"  A  gipsey  !  no,  I  am  a  Virginian — and  a  brave  man's 
wife,  as  you  would  be — but  that  prejudice  and  fear  keep  you 
still  in  Egyptian  bondage.  The  time  has  come  for  woman 
to  act  her  part  in  the  world — and  for  you,  Virginia  Tem- 
ple, to  act  yours." 

"  But  what  would  you  have  me  to  do  ?"  asked  Virginia, 
surprised  at  the  knowledge  which  the  stranger  seemed  to 
possess  of  her  history. 

"  Do  !"  shrieked  the  woman,  "  your  duty — that  which 
every  human  creature,  man  or  woman,  is  bound  before  high 
heaven  to  do.  Aid  in  the  great  work  which  God  this  day 


142  HANSFORD : 

calls  upon  his  Israel  to  do — to  redeem  his  people  from  cap- 
tivity and  from  the  hand  of  those  who  smite  us." 

"  My  good  woman,"  said  Virginia,  who  now  began  to 
*  understand  the  character  of  the  strange  intruder,  "  it  is  not 
for  me,  may  I  add,  it  is  not  for  our  sex  to  mingle  in  contests 
like  the  present.  We  can  but  humbly  pray  that  He  who 
controls  the  affairs  of  this  world,  may  direct  in  virtue  and  in 
wisdom,  the  hearts  of  both  rulers  and  people." 

"  And  why  should  we  only  pray,"  said  the  woman  sternly, 
"  when  did  Heaven  ever  answer  prayer,  except  when  our 
own  actions  carried  the  prayer  into  effect.  Have  you  not 
learned,  have  you  not  known,  hath  it  not  been  told  you  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  faith  without  works  was 
dead." 

"But  there  is  no  part  which  a  woman  can  consistently 
take  in  such  a  contest  as  the  present,  even  should  she  so  far 
forget  her  true  duties  as  to  wish  to  engage  in  it. " 

"  Girl,  have  you  read  your  bible,  or  are  you  one  of  those 
children  of  the  scarlet  woman  of  Babylon,  to  whom  the  word 
of  God  is  a  closed  book — to  whom  the  waters  from  the  foun- 
tain of  truth  can  only  come  through  the  polluted  lips  of 
priests — as  unclean  birds  feed  their  offspring.  Do  you  not 
know  that  it  was  a  woman,  even  Kahab,  who  saved  the 
spies  sent  out  from  Shittem  to  view  the  land  of  promise  ? 
Do  you  not  know  that  Miriam  joined  with  the  hosts  of  Is- 
rael in  the  triumph  of  their  deliverance  from  the  hand  of 
Pharaoh  ?  Do  you  not  know  that  Deborah,  the  wife  of 
Lapidoth,  judged  Israel,  and  delivered  Jacob  from  the 
hands  of  Jabin,  king  of  Canaan,  and  Sisera  the  captain  of 
his  host — and  did  not  Jael,  the  wife  of  Heber  the  Kenite, 
rescue  Israel  from  the  hands  of  Sisera  ?  Surely  she  fastened 
the  nail  in  a  sure  place,  and  the  wife  of  Sisera,  tarried  long 
ere  his  chariot  should  come — and  shall  we  in  these  latter 
days  of  Israel  be  less  bold  than  they  ?  Tell  me  not  of  pray- 
ers, Virginia  Temple,  cowards  alone  pray  blindly  for  assist- 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          143 

ance.  It  is  the  will  of  God  that  the  brave  should  be  often 
under  Heaven,  the  answerers  of  their  own  prayers." 

"  And  pray  tell  me,"  said  Virginia,  struck  with  the  wild, 
biblical  eloquence  of  the  Puritan  woman,  "  why  you  have 
thus  come  to  me  among  so  many  of  the  damsels  of  Virginia, 
to  urge  me  to  engage  in  this  enterprise." 

"  Because  I  was  sent.  Because  one  of  the  captains  of 
our  host  has  sought  the  hand  of  Virginia  Temple.  Ah, 
blush,  maiden,  for  the  blush  of  shame  well  becomes  one  who 
has  deserted  her  lover,  because  he  has  laid  aside  every 
weight,  and  pressed  forward  to  the  prize  of  his  high  calling. 
Yet  a  little  while,  and  the  brave  men  of  Virginia  will  be 
here  to  show  the  malign  ant  Berkeley,  that  the  servant  is  not 
greater  than  his  lord — that  they  who  reared  up  this  temple 
of  his  authority,  can  rase  it  to  the  ground  and  bury  him  in 
its  ruins.  I  come  from  Thomas  Hansford,  to  ask  that  you 
will  under  my  guidance  meet  him  where  I  shall  appoint  to- 
night." 

"This  is  most  strange  conduct  on  his  part,"  said  Vh- 
ginia,  flushing  with  indignation,  "nor  will  I  believe  him 
guilty  of  it.  Why  did  he  entrust  a  message  like  this  to  you 
instead  of  writing  ?" 

"A  warrior  writes  with  his  sword  and  in  blood,"  replied 
the  woman.  "  Think  you  that  they  who  wander  in  the  wil- 
derness, are  provided  with  pen  or  ink  to  write  soft  words 
of  love  to  silly  maidens  ?  But  he  foresaw  that  you  would 
refuse,  and  he  gave  me  a  token — I  fear  a  couplet  from  a 
carnal  song." 

"  What  is  it  ?"  cried  Virginia,  anxiously. 

"  '  I  had  not  loved  thee,  dear,  so  much, 
Loved  I  not  honour  more/" 

said  the  woman,  in  a  low  voice.  "  Thus  the  words  run  in 
my  memory." 


144  HANSFORD : 

"And  it  is  indeed  a  true  token,"  said  Virginia,"  but  once 
for  all,  I  cannot  consent  to  this  singular  request. " 

"  Decide  not  in  haste,  lest  you  repent  at  leisure,"  returned 
the  woman,  "  I  will  come  to-night  at  ten  o'clock  to  receive 
your  final  answer.  And  regret  not,  Virginia  Temple,  that 
your  fate  is  thus  linked  with  a  brave  man.  The  babe  un- 
born will  yet  bless  the  rising  in  this  country — and  children 
shall  rise  up  and  call  us  blest.*  And,  oh!  as  you  would 
prove  worthy  of  him  who  loves  you,  abide  not  thou  like 
Reuben  among  the  sheep-folds  to  hear  the  bleating  of  the 
flocks,  and  you  will  yet  live  to  rejoice  that  you  have  turned 
a  willing  ear  to  the  words  and  the  counsel  of  Sarah  Pruin- 
mond." 

There  was  a  pause  of  some  moments,  during  which  Vir- 
ginia was  wrapt  in  her  own  reflections  concerning  the  sin- 
gular message  of  Hansford,  rendered  even  more  singular  by 
the  character  and  appearance  of  the  messenger.  Suddenly 
she  was  startled  from  her  reverie  by  the  blast  of  a  trumpet, 
arid  the  distant  trampling  of  horses'  hoofs.  Sarah  Drum- 
mond  also  started  at  the  sound,  but  not  from  the  same 
cause,  for  she  heard  in  that  sound  the  blast  of  defiance — the 
trumpet  of  freedom,  as  its  champions  advanced  to  the 
charge. 

"They  come,  they  come,"  she  said,  in  her  wild,  shrill 
voice ;  "  my  Lord,  my  Lord,  the  chariots  of  Israel  and  the 
horsemen  thereof — I  go,  like  Miriam  of  old,  to  prophecy  in 
their  cause,  and  to  swell  their  triumph.  Farewell.  Re- 
member, at  ten  o'clock  to-night  I  return  for  your  final 
answer  " 

With  these  words  she  burst  from  the  room,  and  Vir- 
ginia soon  seen  her  tall  form,  with  hasty  strides,  moving 
toward  the  place  from  which  the  sound  proceeded. 

*  This  was  her  very  language  during  the  rebellion. 


A  TALE   OP   BACON'S   REBELLION.  145 


CHAPTER   XXL 

"  Men,  high  minded  men, 
With  powers  as  far  above  dull  brutes  endued, 

In  forest,  brake  or  den, 
As  beasts  excel  cold  rocks  and  brambles  rude ; 

Men,  who  their  duties  know, 

But  know  their  rights,  and  knowing  dare  maintain, 
These  constitute  a  state.'' 

Sir  William  Jones. 

AND  nearer,  and  nearer,  came  the  sound,  and  the  cloud 
of  dust  which  already  rose  in  the  street,  announced  their 
near  approach.  And  then,  Virginia  saw  emerging  from 
that  cloud  a  proud  figure,  mounted  on  a  splendid  grey 
charger,  which  pranced  and  champed  his  bit,  as  though 
proud  of  the  noble  burden  which  he  bore.  And  well  he 
might  be  proud,  for  that  young  gallant  rider  was  Nathaniel 
Bacon,  a  man  who  has  left  his  name  upon  his  country's 
history,  despite  the  efforts  to  defame  him,  as  the  very 
embodiment  of  the  spirit  of  freedom.  And  he  looked  every 
inch  a  hero,  as  with  kingly  mien  and  gallant  bearing  he 
rode  through  that  crowded  street,  the  great  centre  of 
attraction  to  all. 

Beside  him  and  around  him  were  those,  his  friends  and 
his  companions,  who  had  sworn  to  share  his  success,  or  to 
perish  in  the  attempt. 

There  was  the  burley  Richard  Lawrence,  not  yet  bent 
under  the  weight  of  his  growing  years.  There  was  Carver, 
the  bold,  intrepid  and  faithful  Carver,  whose  fidelity  yet 
lives  historically  in  his  rough,  home-brewed  answer  to  the 
Governor,  that  "  if  he  served  the  devil  he  would  be  true  to 
his  trust."  There  too  was  the  young  and  graceful  form 
of  one  whose  name  has  been  honoured  by  history,  and 
cherished  by  his  descendants — whose  rising  glory  has 

13 


146  HANSFORD: 

indeed  been  eclipsed  by  others  of  his  name  more  success- 
ful, but  not  more  worthy  of  success — nor  can  that  long, 
pure  cavalier  lineage  boast  a  nobler  ancestor  than  the 
high-souled,  chivalrous,  and  devoted  Giles  Bland.  There 
too  were  Ingram,  and  Walklate,  and  Wilford,  and  Farloe, 
and  Cheesman,  and  a  host  of  others,  whom  time  would  fail 
us  to  mention,  and  yet,  each  one  of  whom,  a  pioneer  in 
freedom's  cause,  deserves  to  be  freshly  remembered.  And 
there  too,  and  the  heart  of  Virginia  Temple  beat  loud  and 
quick  as  she  beheld  him,  was  the  gallant  Hansford,  whom 
she  loved  so  well ;  and  as  she  gazed  upon  his  noble  figure, 
now  foremost  in  rebellion,  the  old  love  came  back  gushing 
into  her  heart,  and  she  half  forgave  his  grievous  sin,  and 
loved  him  as  before. 

These  all  passed  on,  and  the  well-regulated  band  of  four 
hundred  foot-soldiers,  all  armed  and  disciplined  for  action, 
followed  on,  ready  and  anxious  to  obey  their  noble  leader, 
even  unto  death.  Among  these  were  many,  who,  through 
their  lives  had  been  known  as  loyalists,  who  upheld  the 
councils  of  the  colony  in  their  long  resistance  to  the  usur- 
pation of  the  Protector,  and  who  hailed  the  restoration  of 
their  king  as  a  personal  triumph  to  each  and  all.  There 
too  were  those  who  had  admired  Cromwell,  and  sustained 
his  government,  and  some  few  grey-headed  veterans  who 
even  remembered  to  have  fought  under  the  banner  of  John 
Hampden — Cavaliers  and  Roundheads,  Episcopalians  and 
Dissenters;  old  men,  who  had  heretofore  passed  through 
life  regardless  of  the  forms  of  government  under  which 
they  lived ;  and  young  men,  whose  ardent  hearts  burned 
high  with  the  spirit  of  liberty — all  these  discordant  ele- 
ments had  been  united  in  the  alembic  of  freedom,  and 
hand-in-hand,  and  heart-in-heart,  were  preparing  for  the 
struggle.  And  Virginia  Temple  thought,  as  she  gazed 
from  the  window  upon  their  manly  forms,  that  after  all, 
rebellion  was  not  confined  to  the  ignoble  and  the  base. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          147 

On,  on,  still  on,  and  now  they  have  reached  the  gate 
which  is  the  grand  entrance  to  the  state-house  square. 
The  crowd  of  eager  citizens  throng  after  them,  and  with 
the  fickle  sympathy  of  the  mob  unite  in  loud  shouts  of 
"Long  live  Bacon,  the  Champion  of  Freedom."  And 
now  they  are  drawn  up  in  bristling  column  before  the  hall 
of  the  assembly,  while  the  windows  are  crowded  thick  with 
the  pale,  anxious  faces  of  the  astounded  burgesses.  But 
see !  the  leaders  dismount,  and  their  horses  are  given  in 
charge  to  certain  of  the  soldiers.  Conspicuous  among 
them  all  is  Nathaniel  Bacon,  from  his  proud  and  imperial 
bearing  as  he  walks  with  impatient  steps  up  and  down  the 
line,  and  reads  their  resolution  in  the  faces  of  the  men. 

"  What  will  he  do  I"  is  whispered  from  the  white  and 
agitated  lips  of  the  trembling  burgesses. 

"  This  comes  of  the  faithless  conduct  of  Berkeley,"  says 
one. 

"  Yes ;  I  always  said  that  Bacon  should  have  his  com- 
mission," says  another. 

"It  is  downright  murder  to  deny  him  the  right  to  save 
the  colony  from  the  savages,"  says  a  third. 

"And  we  must  suffer  for  the  offences  of  a  despotic  old 
dotard,"  said  the  first  speaker. 

"Say  you  so,  masters,"  cried  out  old  Presley,  wedging 
his  huge  form  between  two  of  his  brethren  at  the  window 
— and  all  his  loyalty  of  the  preceding  night  having  oozed 
out  a,t  his  fingers'  ends,  like  Bob  Acres'  courage,  at  the 
first  approach  of  danger — "  say  you  so  ;  then,  by  God, 
it  is  my  advice  to  let  him  put  out  the  fire  of  his  own 
raising." 

But  see  there  !  Bacon  and  his  staff  are  conferring  to- 
gether. It  will  soon  be  known  what  is  his  determination. 
It  is  already  read  in  his  fierce  and  angry  countenance  as 
he  draws  his  sword  half  way  from  its  scabbard,  and  frowns 
upon  the  milder  councils  of  Hansford  and  Bland.  Pre- 


148  HANSFORD : 

sently  a  servant  of  one  of  the  members  comes  in  with  pale, 
affrighted  looks,  and  whispers  to  his  master.  He  has 
overheard  the  words  of  Bacon,  which  attended  that 
ominous  gesture. 

"  I  will  bear  a  little  while.  But  when  you  see  my  sword 
drawn  from  my  scabbard,  thus,  let  that  be  the  signal  for 
attack.  Then  strike  for  freedom,  for  truth,  and  for 
justice." 

The  burgesses  look  in  wild  alarm  at  each  other.  What 
is  to  be  done  ?  It  were  vain  to  resist.  They  are  unarmed. 
The  rebels  more  than  quadruple  Governor,  Council,  and 
Assembly.  Let  those  suffer  who  have  incurred  the  wrath 
of  freemen.  Let  the  lightning  fall  upon  him  who  has  called 
it  down.  For  ourselves,  let  us  make  peace. 

In  a  moment  a  white  handkerchief  suspended  on  the 
usher's  rod  streams  from  the  window,  an  emblem  of  peace, 
an  advocate  for  mercy,  and  with  one  accordant  shout, 
which  rings  through  the  halls  of  the  state-house,  the 
burgesses  declare  that  he  shall  have  his  commission. 

Bacon  sees  the  emblem.  He  hears  the  shout.  His  dark 
eye  flashes  with  delight  as  he  hails  this  bloodless  victory 
over  the  most  formidable  department  of  the  government. 
The  executive  dare  not  hold  out  against  the  will  of  the 
Assembly.  But  the  victory  is  not  yet  consummated. 

Suddenly  from  the  lips  of  the  excited  soldiery  comes  a 
wild  cry,  and  following  the  direction  of  their  eyes,  he  sees 
Sir  William  Berkeley  standing  at  the  open  window  of  the 
Council  Chamber.  Yes,  there  stands  the  proud  old  man, 
with  form  erect  and  noble — his  face  somewhat  paler,  and 
his  eagle  eye  somewhat  brighter  than  usual.  But  these 
are  the  only  signs  he  gives  of  emotion,  as  he  looks  down 
upon  that  hostile  crowd,  with  a  smile  of  bitter  scorn 
encircling  his  lip.  He  quails  not,  he  blenches  not,  before 
that  angry  foe.  His  pulse  beats  calmly  and  regularly,  for 
it  is  under  the  control  of  the  brave  great  heart,  which 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         149 

knows  no  fear.  And  there  he  stands,  all  calm  and  silent, 
like  a  firm-set  rock  that  defies  in  its  iron  strength  the  fury 
of  the  storm  that  beats  against  it. 

Yet  Berkeley  is  in  danger.  He  is  the  object,  the  sole 
object,  of  the  bitter  hate  of  that  incensed  and  indignant 
soldiery.  He  has  pledged  and  he  has  broken  his  word  to 
them,  and  when  did  broken  faith  ever  fail  to  arouse  the 
indignation  of  Virginians  ?  He  has  denied  them  the  right 
to  protect,  by  organized  force,  their  homes  and  their  fire- 
sides from  the  midnight  attacks  of  ruthless  savages.  He 
has  advised  the  passage  of  laws  restricting  their  commerce, 
and  reducing  the  value  of  their  staples.  He  has  urged  the 
erection  of  forts  throughout  the  colony,  armed  with  a 
regular  soldiery,  supported  in  their  idleness  by  the  industry 
of  Virginians,  and  whose  sole  object  is  to  check  the  kindling 
flame  of  liberty  among  the  people.  He  has  sanctioned  and 
encouraged  the  exercise  of  power  by  Parliament  to  tax  an 
unrepresented  colony.  He  has  advised  and  upheld  His 
Majesty  in  depriving  the  original  patentees  of  immense 
tracts  of  land,  and  lavishing  them  as  princely  donations 
upon  fawning  favourites.  He  has  refused  to  represent  to 
the  king  the  many  grievances  of  the  colony,  and  to  urge 
their  redress,  and,  although  thus  showing  himself  to  be  a 
tyrant  over  a  free  people,  he  has  dared  to  urge,  through 
his  servile  commissioners,  his  appointment  as  Governor  for 
life. 

Such  were  some  of  the  many  causes  of  discontent  among 
the  colonists  which  had  so  inflamed  them  against  Sir 
William  Berkeley.  And  now,  there  he  stood  before  them, 
calm  in  spite  of  their  menaces,  unrelenting  in  spite  of  their 
remonstrances.  Without  a  word  of  command,  and  with 
one  accord  a  hundred  fusils  were  pointed  at  the  breast  of 
the  brave  old  Governor.  It  was  a  moment  of  intense 
excitement — of  terrible  suspense.  But  even  then  his  cour- 
age and  his  self-reliance  forsook  him  not.  Tearing  open 
13* 


150  HANSFORD: 

his  Test,  and  presenting  himself  at  the  window  more  fully 
to  their  attaqk,  he  cried  out  in  a  firm  voice  : 

"  Aye,  shoot !  'Fore  God,  a  fair  mark.  Infatuated 
men,  bury  your  wrongs  here  in  my  heart.  I  dare  you  to 
do  your  worst  I" 

"  Down  with  your  guns  I"  shouted  Bacon,  angrily.  But 
it  needed  not  the  order  of  their  leader  to  cause  them  to 
drop  their  weapons  in  an  instant.  The  calm  smile  which 
still  played  around  the  countenance  of  the  old  Governor, 
the  unblenching  glance  of  that  eagle  eye,  and  the  unawed 
manner  in  which  he  dared  them  to  revenge,  all  had  their 
effect  in  allaying  the  resentment  of  the  soldiers.  And  with 
this  came  the  memory  of  the  olden  time,  when  he  was  so 
beloved  by  his  people,  because  so  just  and  gentle.  Some- 
thing of  this  old  feeling  now  returned,  and  as  they  lowered 
their  weapons  a  tear  glistened  in  many  a  hardy  soldier's 
eye. 

With  the  quick  perception  of  true  genius,  Nathaniel 
Bacon  saw  the  effect  produced.  Well  aware  of  the  vola- 
tile materials  with  which  he  had  to  work,  he  dreaded  a 
revolution  in  the  feelings  of  the  men.  Anxious  to  smother 
the  smouldering  ashes  of  loyalty  before  they  were  fanned 
into  a  flame,  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 

"  Not  a  hair  of  your  head  shall  be  touched.  No,  nor 
of  any  man's.  I  come  for  justice,  not  for  vengeance.  I 
come  to  plead  for  the  mercy  which  ill-judged  and  cruel  delay 
has  long  denied  this  people.  I  come  to  plead  for  the  liv- 
ing— my  argument  may  be  heard  from  the  dead.  The 
voices  of  murdered  Englishmen  call  to  you  from  the  ground. 
We  demand  a  right,  guarantied  by  the  sacred  and  inviolable 
law  of  self-preservation !  A  right !  guarantied  by  the 
plighted  but  violated  word  of  an  English  knight  and  a 
Virginia  Governor.  A  right  I  which  I  now  hold  by  the 
powerful,  albeit  unwritten,  sanction  of  these,  the  sovereigns 
of  Virginia." 


A    TALE    OF    BACON'S   REBELLION.  151 

The  last  artful  allusion  of  Bacon  entirely  restored  the 
confidence  of  his  soldiers,  and  with  loud  cries  they  shouted 
in  chorus,  "  And  we  will  have  it ! — we  will  have  it  1" 

Berkeley  listened  patiently  to  this  brief  address,  and  then 
turned  from  the  window  where  he  was  standing,  and  took 
his  seat  at  the  council-table.  Here,  too,  he  was  surrounded 
by  many  who,  either  alarmed  at  the  menaces  of  the  rebels, 
and  convinced  of  the  futility  of  resisting  their  demands,  or, 
what  is  more  probable,  who  had  a  secret  sympathy  in  the 
causes  of  the  rebellion,  exerted  all  their  influence  in  molli- 
fying the  wrath  and  obstinacy  of  the  old  Governor.  But 
it  was  all  in  vain.  To  every  argument  or  persuasion  which 
was  urged,  his  only  reply  was, 

"  To  have  forced  from  me  by  rebels  the  trust  confided  in 
me  by  my  king  !  To  yield  to  force  what  I  denied  to  peti- 
tion !  No,  Gentlemen  ;  'fore  God,  if  the  authority  of  my 
master's  government  must  be  overcome  in  Virginia,  let  me 
perish  with  it.  I  wish  no  higher  destiny  than  to  be  a  mar- 
tyr, like  my  royal  master,  Charles  the  First,  to  the  cause 
of  truth  and  justice.  Let  them  rob  me  of  my  life  when  they 
rob  me  of  my  trust." 

While  thus  the  councillors  were  vainly  endeavoring  to 
persuade  the  old  man  to  yield  to  the  current  which  had  so 
set  against  him,  he  was  surprised  by  a  slight  touch  on  his 
shoulder,  and  on  looking  up  he  saw  Alfred  Bernard  stand- 
ing before  him.  The  young  man  bent  over,  and  in  a  low 
whisper  uttered  these  significant  words  : 

"  The  commission,  extorted  by  force,  is  null  and  void 
when  the  duress  is  removed." 

Struck  by  a  view  so  apposite  to  his  condition,  and  so 
entirely  tallying  with  his  own  wishes,  the  impetuous  old 
Governor  fairly  leaped  from  his  chair  and  grasped  the  hand 
of  his  young  adviser. 

"Right,  by  God!"  he  said;  "right,  my  son.  Gentle- 
men, this  young  man's  counsel  is  worth  all  of  your's.  Out 


152  HANSFORD: 

of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings — however,  Alfred,  you 
would  not  relish  a  compliment  paid  at  the  expense  of  your 
manhood." 

"  What  does  the  young  man  propose  ?"  drawled  the 
phlegmatic  old  Cole,  who  was  one  of  the  council  board. 

"  That  I  should  yield  to  the  current  when  I  must,  and 
resist  it  when  I  can,"  cried  Berkeley,  exultingly.  "  Loyalty 
must  only  bow  to  the  storm,  as  the  tree  bows  before  the 
tempest.  The  most  efficient  resistance  is  apparent  con- 
cession." 

The  councillors  were  astounded.  Sprung  from  that 
chivalric  Anglo-Saxon  race,  who  respected  honour  more 
than  life,  and  felt  a  stain  like  a  wound,  they  could  scarcely 
believe  their  senses  when  they  thus  heard  the  Governor  of 
Virginia  recommending  deceit  and  simulation  to  secure  his 
safety.  To  them,  rebellion  was  chiefly  detestable  because 
it  was  an  infraction  of  the  oath  of  loyalty.  It  could 
scarcely  be  more  base  than  the  premeditated  perjury  which 
Sir  William  contemplated.  Many  an  angry  eye  and  dark 
scowl  was  bent  on  Alfred  Bernard,  who  met  them  with  au 
easy  and  defiant  air.  The  silence  that  ensued  expressed 
more  clearly  than  words  the  disapprobation  of  the  council. 
At  length  old  Ballard,  one  of  the  most  loyal  and  esteemed 
members  of  the  council,  hazarded  an  expression  of  his 
views. 

"  Sir  William  Berkeley,  let  me  advise  you  as  your  coun- 
sellor, and  warn  you  as  your  friend,  to  avoid  the  course 
prescribed  by  that  young  man.  What  effect  can  your  bad 
faith  with  these  misguided  persons  have,  but  to  exasperate 
them  ? — and  when  once  aroused,  and  once  deceived,  be 
assured  that  all  attempts  at  reconciliation  will  be  vain.  I 
speak  plainly,  but  I  do  so  because  not  only  your  own  safety, 
but  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  colony  are  involved  in 
your  decision.  Were  not  the  broken  pledges  of  that 
unhappy  Stuart,  to  whom  you  have  referred,  the  causes  of 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          153 

that  fearful  revolution  which  alienated  the  affections  of  his 
subjects  and  at  lengtlf  cost  him  his  life  ?  Charles  Stuart 
has  not  died  in  vain,  if,  by  his  death  and  his  sufferings,  he 
has  taught  his  successors  in  power  that  candour,  moderation 
and  truth  are  due  from  a  prince  to  his  people.  But,  alas  ! 
what  oceans  of  blood  must  be  shed  ere  man  will  learn  those 
useful  lessons,  which  alone  can  ensure  his  happiness  and 
secure  his  authority." 

"Zounds,  Ballard,"  said  the  incensed  old  ruler,  "you 
have  mistaken  your  calling.  I  have  not  heard  so  fine  a 
sermon  this  many  a  day,  and,  'fore  God,  if  you  will  only 
renounce  politics,  and  don  gown  and  cassock,  I  will  have 
you  installed  forthwith  in  my  dismal  Hutchinson's  living. 
But,"  he  added,  more  seriously,  as  the  smile  of  bitter  deri- 
sion faded  from  his  lips,  "  I  well  e'en  tell  you  that  you  have 
expressed  yourself  a  matter  too  "freely,  and  have  forgotten 
what  you  owe  to  position  and  authority." 

"  I  have  forgotten  neither,  sir,"  said  Ballard,  firmly  but 
calmly.  "  I  owe  respect  to  position,  even  though  I  may 
not  have  it  for  the  man  who  holds  that  position  ;  and  when 
authority  is  abused,  I  owe  it  alike  to  myself  and  to  the  peo- 
ple to  check  it  so  far  as  I  may." 

The  flush  of  passion  mounted  to  the  brow  of  Berkeley, 
as  he  listened  to  these  words ;  but  with  a  violent  effort  he 
checked  the  angry  retort  which  rose  to  his  lips,  and  turning 
to  the  rest  of  the  council,  he  said  : 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  I  will  submit  the  proposition  to  you. 
Shall  the  commission  of  General  of  the  forces  of  Yirginia 
be  granted  to  Nathaniel  Bacon  ?" 

"Nay,  Governor,"  interposed  another  of  the  council, 
"  we  would  know  whether  you  intend — " 

"It  is  of  my  actions  that  you  must  advise.  Leave  my 
motives  to  me.  What  do  you  advise  ?  Shall  the  commis- 
sion be  granted  ?" 

"  Aye,"  was  responded  in  turn  by  each  of  the  council- 


154  HANSFORD: 

lors  at  the  board,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  heavy  tramp 
of  approaching  footsteps  was  heard,*  and  Bacon,  attended 
by  Lawrence,  Bland  and  Hansford,  entered  the  chamber. 

The  council  remained  seated  and  covered,  and  preserved 
the  most  imperturbable  silence.  It  was  a  scene  not  unlike 
that  of  that  ancient  senate,  who,  unable  to  resist  the  attack 
of  barbarians,  evinced  their  pride  and  bravery  by  their  con- 
temptuous silence.  The  sun  was  shining  brightly  through 
the  western  windows  of  the  chamber,  and  his  glaring  rays, 
softened  and  coloured  by  the  rich  red  curtains  of  damask, 
threw  a  deeper  flush  upon  the  cheeks  of  the  haughty  old 
councillors;  With  their  eyes  fixed  upon  the  intruders,  they 
patiently  awaited  the  result  of  the  interview.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  attitude  and  behaviour  of  the  rebels  was  not  less 
calm  and  dignified.  They  had  evidently  counselled  well 
before  they  had  determined  to  intrude  thus  upon  the  delibe- 
rations of  the  council.  It  was  with  no  angry  or  impatient 
outburst  of  passion,  with  no  air  of  triumph,  that  they  came. 
They  knew  their  rights,  and  had  come  to  claim  and  main- 
tain them. 

There  were  two  men  there,  and  they  the  youngest  of 
that  mixed  assembly,  who  viewed  each  other  with  looks 
of  darker  hatred  than  the  rest.  The  wound  inflicted  in 
Hansford's  heart  at  Windsor  Hall  had  not  yet  been  healed 
— and  with  that  tendency  to  injustice  so  habitual  to  lovers, 
with  the  proclivity  of  all  men  to  seek  out  some  one  whom 
they  may  charge  as  the  author  of  their  own  misfortune,  he 
viewed  Bernard  with  feelings  of  distrust  and  enmity.  He 
felt,  too,  or  rather  he  feared,  that  the  heart  left  vacant  by 
his  own  exclusion  from  it,  might  be  filled  with  this  young 
rival.  Bernard,  on  the  other  hand,  had  even  stronger  reason 
of  dislike,  and  if  such  motives  could  operate  even  upon  the 
noble  mind  of  Hansford,  with  how  much  greater  force 
would  they  impress  the  selfish  character  of  the  young 
Jesuit.  The  recollection  of  that  last  scene  with  Virginia 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         155 

in  the  park,  of  her  unwavering  devotion  to  her  rebel  lover, 
and  her  disregard  of  his  own  feelings  came  upon  him  now 
with  renewed  force,  as  he  saw  that  rebel  rival  stand  before 
him.  Even  if  filial  regard  for  her  father's  wishes  and  a 
sense  of  duty  to  herself  would  forever  prevent  her  alliance 
with  Hansford,  Alfred  Bernard  felt  that  so  long  as  his  rival 
lived  there  was  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  his  acquisition 
of  her  estate,  an  object  which  he  prized  even  more  than  her 
love.  Thus  these  two  young  men  darted  angry  glances  at 
each  other,  and  forgot  in  their  own  personal  aggrievements, 
the  higher  principles  for  which  they  were  engaged  of  loy- 
alty on  the  one  hand,  and  liberty  on  the  other. 

Bacon  was  the  first  to  break  silence.    . 

"Methinks,"  he  said,  "that  your  honours  are  not  inclined 
to  fall  into  the  error  of  deciding  in  haste  and  repenting  at 
leisure." 

"Mr.  Bacon,"  said  Berkeley,  "you  must  be  aware  that 
the  appearance  of  this  armed  force  tends  to  prejudice  your 
claims.  It  would  be  indecorous  in  me  to  be  overawed  by 
menaces,  or  to  yield  to  compulsion.  But  the  necessities  of 
the  time  demand  that  there  should  be  an  organized  force, 
to  resist  the  encroachments  of  the  Indians.  It  is,  there- 
fore, not  from  fear  of  your  threats,  but  from  conviction  of 
this  necessity  that  I  have  determined  to  grant  you  the  com- 
mission which  you  ask,  with  full  power  to  raise,  equip,  and 
provision  an  army,  and  with  instructions,  that  you  forthwith 
proceed  to  march  against  the  savages. " 

Bacon  could  scarcely  suppress  a  smile  at  this  boastful 
appearance  of  authority  and  disavowal  of  compulsion,  on 
the  part  of  the  proud  old  Governor.  It  was  with  a  thrill 
of  rapture  that  he  thus  at  last  possessed  the  great  object  of 
his  wishes.  Already  idolized  by  the  people,  he  only  needed 
a  legal  recognition  of  his  authority  to  accomplish  the  great 
ends  that  he  had  in  view.  As  the  commission  was  made 
out  in  due  form,  engrossed  and  sealed,  and  handed  to  him, 


156  HANSFORD: 

he  clutched  it  eagerly,  as  though  it  were  a  sceptre  of  royal 
power.  Little  suspecting  the  design  of  the  wily  Governor, 
he  felt  all  his  confidence  in  him  restored  at  once,  and  from 
his  generous  heart  he  forgave  him  all  the  past. 

"This  commission,  though  military,"  he  said,  proudly, 
"  is  the  seal  of  restored  tranquillity  to  the  colony.  Think 
not  it  will  be  perverted  to  improper  uses.  Royalty  is  to 
Virginians  what  the  sun  is  to  the  pious  Persian.  Virginia 
was  the  last  to  desert  the  setting  sun  of  royalty,  and  still 
lingered  piously  and  tearfully  to  look  upon  its  declining 
rays.  She  was  the  first  to  hail  the  glorious  restoration  of 
its  light,  a'nd  as  she  worshipped  its  rising  beams,  she  will 
never  seek  to  quench  or  overcloud  its  meridian  lustre.  I  go, 
gentlemen,  to  restore  peace  to  the  fireside  and  confidence 
to  the  hearts  of  this  people.  The  sword  of  my  country 
shall  never  be  turned  against  herself." 

The  heightened  colour  of  his  cheek,  and  the  bright  flash- 
ing of  his  eye,  bespoke  the  pride  and  delight  of  his  heart. 
With  a  profound  bow  he  turned  from  the  room,  and  with 
his  aids,  he  descended  to  rejoin  his  anxious  and  expectant 
followers.  In  a  few  moments  the  loud  shout  of  the  soldiery 
was  heard  testifying  their  satisfaction  at  the  result.  The 
names  of  Berkeley  and  of  Bacon  were  upon  their  lips — and 
as  the  proud  old  Governor  gazed  from  the  window  at  that 
happy  crowd,  and  saw  with  the  admiring  eye  of  a  brave 
man,  the  tall  and  martial  form  of  Nathaniel  Bacon  at  their 
head,  he  scarcely  regretted  in  that  moment  that  his  loyal 
name  had  been  linked  with  the  name  of  a  traitor. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         167 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

"  Me  glory  summons  to  the  martial  scene, 
The  field  of  combat  is  the  sphere  of  men  ; 
Where  heroes  war  the  foremost  place  I  claim, 
The  first  in  danger,  as  the  first  in  fame." 

Pope's  Iliad. 

WE  return  to  Yirginia  Temple,  who,  although  not  an 
eye-witness  of  the  scene  which  we  have  just  described,  was 
far  from  being  disinterested  in  its  result.  The  words  of 
the  singular  woman,  with  whom  she  had  conversed,  had 
made  some  impression  upon  her  mind.  Although  dis- 
gusted with  the  facility  with  which  Dame  Drummond  had 
distorted  and  perverted  Scripture  to  justify  her  own  wild 
absurdities,  Yirginia  still  felt  that  there  was  much  cause 
for  self-reproach  in  her  conduct  to  her  lover.  She  felt 
every  assurance  that  though  he  might  err,  he  would  err 
from  judgment  alone ;  and  how  little  did  she  know  of  the 
questions  at  issue  between  the  aroused  people  and  the 
government.  Indeed,  when  she  saw  the  character  of  those 
with  whom  Hansford  was  associated — men  not  impelled  by 
the  blind  excitement  of  a  mob,  but  evidently  actuated  by 
higher  principles  of  right  and  justice,  her  heart  misgave 
her  that,  perhaps,  she  had  permitted  prejudice  to  carry  her 
too  far  in  her  opposition  to  their  cause.  The  struggle  in 
her  mind  was  indeed  an  unequal  one.  It  was  love  plead- 
ing against  ignorant  prejudice,  and  that  at  the  forum  of  a 
woman's  heart.  Can  it  be  wondered  at  that  Yirginia 
Temple,  left  to  herself,  without  an  adviser,  yielded  to  the 
powerful  plea,  and  freely  and  fully  forgave  her  rebel  lover  ? 
14 


158  HANSPORD: 

And  when  she  thought,  too,  that,  however  guilty  to 
his  country,  he  had,  at  least,  been  ever  faithful  to  her, 
she  added  to  her  forgiveness  of  him  the  bitterest  self- 
reproach.  On  one  thing  she  was  resolved,  that  notwith- 
standing the  apparent  indelicacy  of  such  a  course,  she 
would  grant  him  the  interview  which  he  requested,  and  if 
she  could  not  win  him  from  his  error,  at  least  part  from 
him,  though  forever,  as  a  friend.  She  felt  that  it  was  due 
to  her  former  love,  and  to  his  unwavering  devotion,  to 
grant  this  last  request. 

Once  determined  on  her  course,  the  hours  rolled  heavily 
away  until  the  time  fixed  for  her  appointment  with  Hans- 
ford.  Despite  her  attempt  to  prove  cheerful  and  uncon- 
cerned, her  lynx-eyed  mother  detected  her  sadness,  but  was 
easily  persuaded  that  it  was  due  to  a  slight  head-ache,  with 
which  she  was  really  suffering,  and  which  she  pleaded  as 
an  excuse.  The  old  lady  -was  more  easily  deceived,  because 
it  tallied  with  her  own  idea,  that  Jamestown  was  very 
unhealthy,  and  that  she,  herself,  could  never  breathe  its 
unwholesome  air  without  the  most  disastrous  consequences 
to  her  health. 

At  length,  Colonel  Temple,  having  left  the  crowd  of 
busy  politicians,  who  were  discussing  the  events  of  the 
day  in  the  hall,  returned  with  his  good  wife  to  their  own 
room.  Virginia,  with  a  beating  heart,  resumed  her  watch 
at  the  window,  where  she  was  to  await  the  coming  of 
Sarah  Drummond.  It  was  a  warm,  still  night.  Scarcely 
a  breath  of  air  was  stirring  the  leaves  of  the  long  line  of 
elms  that  adorned  the  street.  She  sat  watching  the  silent 
stars,  and  wondering  if  those  bright  worlds  contained  scenes 
of  sorrow  and  despair  like  this  ;  or  were  they  but  the  pure 
mansions  which  the  Comforter  was  preparing  in  his 
heavenly  kingdom  for  those  disconsolate  children  of  earth 
who  longed  for  that  peace  which  he  had  promised  when  he 
told  his  trusting  disciples  "Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          159 

neither  let  it  be  afraid."  How  apt  are  the  sorrowing  souls 
of  earth  to  look  thus  into  the  blue  depths  of  heaven,  and 
in  their  selfishness  to  think  that  Nature,  with  her  host  of 
created  beings,  was  made  for  them.  She  chose  from 
among  those  shining  worlds,  one  bright  and  trembling  star, 
which  stood  apart,  and  there  transported  on  the  wings  of 
Fancy  or  Faith,  she  lived  in  love  and  peace  with  Hansford. 
Sweet  was  that  star-home  to  the  trusting  girl,  as  she 
watched  it  in  its  slow  and  silent  course  through  heaven. 
Free  from  the  cares  which  vex  the  spirit  in  this  dark  sin- 
world,  that  happy  star  was  filled  with  love,  and  the  blissful 
pair  who  knew  it  as  their  home,  felt  no  change,  save  in  the 
"  grateful  vicissitude  of  pleasure  and  repose."  Such  was  the 
picture  which  the  young  girl,  with  the  pencil  of  hope,  and 
the  colours  of  fancy  painted  for  her  soul's  eye.  But  as  she 
gazed,  the  star  faded  from  her  sight,  and  a  dark  and  heavy 
cloud  lowered  from  the  place  where  it  had  stood. 

At  the  same  moment,  as  if  the  vision  in  which  she  had 
been  rapt  was  something  more  than  a  dream,  the  door  of 
her  chamber  opened,  and  Sarah  Drummond  entered.  The 
heart  of  Virginia  Temple  nearly  failed  her,  as  she  thought 
of  the  coincidence  in  time  of  the  disappearance  of  the  star 
and  the  summons  to  her  interview  with  Hansford.  Her 
companion  marked  her  manner,  and  in  a  more  gentle  voice 
than  she  had  yet  assumed,  she  said, 

"  Why  art  thou  cast  down,  maiden  ?  Let  not  your 
heart  sink  in  the  performance  of  a  duty.  Have  you 
decided  ?" 

"  Must  I  meet  him  alone  ?"  asked  Virginia.  "  Oh,  how 
could  he  make  a  request  so  hard  to  be  complied  with  !" 

"Alone  !"  said  Sarah,  with  a  sneer.  "Yes,  silly  girl, 
reared  in  the  school  that  would  teach  that  woman's  virtue 
is  too  frail  even  to  be  tempted.  Yes,  alone  !  She  who 
cannot  trust  her  honour  to  a  lover,  knows  but  little  of  the 
true  power  of  love." 


160  HANSFORD: 

"I  will  follow  you,"  replied  Virginia,  firmly,  and  throw- 
ing a  shawl  loosely  around  her,  she  rose  from  her  seat  and 
prepared  to  go. 

"Gome  on,  then,"  said  Sarah,  quickly,  "there  is  no  time 
to  be  lost.  In  an  hour,  at  most,  the  triumphant  defenders 
of  right  will  be  upon  their  march. " 

The  insurgents,  wearied  with  their  long  march  the  night 
and  day  before,  and  finding  no  accommodation  for  their 
numbers  in  the  inn,  or  elsewhere,  had  determined  to  seek  a 
few  hours  repose  in  the  green  lawn  surrounding  the  state- 
house,  previous  to  their  night  march  upon  the  Indians.  It 
was  here  that  Hansford  had  appointed  to  meet  and  bid 
farewell  to  his  betrothed  Virginia.  Half  leading,  half 
dragging  the  trembling  girl,  who  had  already  well  nigh 
repented  her  resolution,  Sarah  Drummond  walked  rapidly 
down  the  street,  in  the  direction  of  the  state-house. 
Arrived  at  the  gate,  their  further  progress  was  arrested  by 
a  rough,  uncouth  sentinel,  who  in  a  coarse  voice  demanded 
who  they  were. 

"I  am  Sarah  Drummond,"  said  the  woman,  promptly, 
"and  this  young  maiden  would  speak  with  Major  Hans- 
ford." 

"  Why,  'stains,  dame,  what  has  become  of  all  your  reli- 
gion, that  you  should  turn  ribibe  on  our  hands,  and  be 
bringing  young  hoydens  this  time  o'  night  to  the  officers. 
For  shame,  Dame  Drummond." 

"  Berkenhead,"  cried  the  woman,  fiercely,  "  we  all  know 
you  for  a  traitor  and  a  blasphemer,  who  serve  but  for  the 
loaves  and  fishes,  and  not  for  the  pure  word.  You  gained 
your  liberty,  you  know,  by  betraying  your  fellows  in  the 
insurrection  of  '62,  and  are  a  base  pensioner  upon  the 
bounty  of  the  Assembly  for  your  cowardice  and  treason. 
But  God  often  maketh  the  carnal-minded  of  this  world  to 
fulfil  his  will,  and  so  we  must  e'en  bear  with  you  yet  a  little 
while.  Come,  let  us  pass." 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         161 

"  Nay,  dame,"  said  the  old  soldier,  "  I  care  but  little  for 
your  abuse ;  but  duty  is  duty,  and  so  an'  ye  give  me  not 
the  shibboleth,  as  old  Noll's  canters  would  say,  you  may 
e'en  tramp  back.  You  see,  I've  got  some  of  your  slang, 
and  will  fight  the  devil  with  his  own  fire  :  '  And  there  fell 
of  the  children  of  Ephraini,  at  the  passage  of  the  Jor- 
dan—' " 

"  Hush,  blasphemer  !"  said  Sarah,  impatiently.  "  But 
if  you  must  have  the  pass  before  you  can  admit  us,  take  it." 
And  she  leaned  forward  and  whispered  in  his  ear  the  words, 
"Be  faithful  to  the  cause." 

"Right  as  a  trivet,"  said  Berkenhead,  "and  so  pass  on. 
A  fig  for  the  consequences,  so  that  my  skirts  are  clear." 

Relieved  from  this  embarrassment,  Sarah  Drummond 
and  her  trembling  companion  passed  through  the  gate,  and 
proceeded  up  the  long  gravelled  walk  which  led  to  the 
state-house.  They  had  not  gone  far  before  Virginia  Tem- 
ple descried  a  dark  form  approaching  them,  and  even 
before  she  could  recognize  the  features,  her  heart  told  her 
it  was  Hansford.  In  another  moment  she  was  in  his  arms. 

"  My  own  Virginia,  my  loved  one,"  he  cried,  regardless 
of  the  presence  of  Mrs.  Drummond,  "  I  scarcely  dared 
hope  that  you  would  have  kept  your  promise  to  say  fare- 
well. Come,  dearest,  lean  on  my  arm,  I  have  much  to 
tell  you.  You,  my  kind  dame,  remain  here  for  a  few 
moments — we  will  not  detain  you  long." 

Quietly  yielding  to  his  request,  Virginia  took  her  lover's 
arm,  and  they  walked  silently  along  the  path,  leaving  the 
good  dame  Drummond  to  digest  alone  her  crude  notions 
about  the  prospects  of  Israel. 

"  Is  it  not  singular,"  said  Hansford  at  length,  "  that 
before  you  came,  I  thought  the  brief  hour  we  must  spend 
together  was  far  too  short  to  say  half  that  I  wish,  and  now 
I  can  say  nothing.  The  quiet  feeling  of  love,  of  pure  and 
tranquil"  love,  banishes  every  other  thought  from  my  heart." 

H* 


1G2  HANSFORD: 

"  I  fear — I  fear,"  murmured  Virginia,  "that  I  have  done 
very  wrong  in  consenting  to  this  interview." 

"And  why,  Virginia,"  said  her  lover,  "even  the  male- 
factor is  permitted  the  poor  privilege  of  bidding  fare- 
well forever  to  those  around  him — and  am  I  worse 
than  he?" 

"No,  Hansford,  no,"  replied  Virginia,  "but  to  come 
thus  with  a  perfect  stranger,  at  night,  and  without  my 
father's  permission,  to  an  interview  with  one  who  has  met 
with  his  disapprobation — " 

"True  love,"  replied  Hansford,  sadly,  "overleaps  all 
such  feeble  barriers  as  these — where  the  happiness  of  the 
loved  one  is  concerned." 

"And,  therefore,  I  came,"  returned  the  young  girl,  "but 
you  forget,  Hansford,  that  the  relation  which  once  existed 
between  us  has,  by  our  mutual  consent,  been  dissolved — 
what  then  was  proper  cannot  now  be  permitted. " 

"  If  such  be  the  case,"  replied  Hansford,  in  an  offended 
tone,  "  Miss  Temple  must  be  aware  that  I  am  the  last 
person  to  urge  her  to  continue  in  a  course  which  her 
judgment  disapproves.  May  I  conduct  you  to  your  com- 
panion ?" 

Virginia  did  not  at  first  reply.  The  coldness  of  man- 
ner which  she  had  assumed  was  far  from  being  consonant 
with  her  real  feelings,  and  the  ingenuous  girl  could  no 
longer  continue  the  part  which  she  attempted  to  represent. 
After  a  brief  pause,  the  natural  affection  of  her  nature 
triumphed,  and  with  the  most  artless  frankness  she  said, 

"  Oh,  no,  Hansford,  my  tongue  can  no  longer  speak 
other  language  than  that  which  my  heart  dictates.  For- 
give me  for  what  I  have  said.  We  cannot  part  thus." 

"  Thanks,  my  dearest  girl,"  he  cried,  "for  this  assurance. 
The  future  is  already  too  dark,  for  the  light  of  hope  to  be 
entirely  withdrawn.  These  troublous  times  will  soon  be 
over,  and  then — " 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION".         163 

"  Nay,  Hansford,"  said  Yirginia,  interrupting  him,  "  I 
fear  you  cannot  even  then  hope  for  that  happiness  which 
you  profess  to  anticipate  in  our  union.  These  things  I  have 
thought  of  deeply  and  sorrowfully.  Whatever  may  be  the 
issue  of  this  unnatural  contest,  to  us  the  result  must  be  the 
same.  My  father's  prejudices — and  without  his  consent,  I 
would  never  yield  my  hand  to  any  one — are  so  strong 
against  your  cause,  that  come  what  may,  they  can  never  be 
removed." 

"  He  must  himself,  ere  long,  see  the  justice  of  our  cause," 
said  Hansford,  confidently.  "It  is  impossible  that  truth 
can  long  be  hid  from  one,  who,  like  your  noble  father,  must 
ever  be  desirous  of  its  success." 

"And  do  you  think,"  returned  Yirginia,  "that  having 
failed  to  arrive  at  your  conclusions  in  his  moments  of  calm 
reflection,  he  will  be  apt  to  change  his  opinions  under  the 
more  formidable  reasoning  of  the  bayonet  ?  Believe  me, 
Hansford,  that  scenes  like  those  which  we  have  this  day 
witnessed,  can  never  reconcile  the  opposing  parties  in  this 
unhappy  strife." 

"  It  is  true,  too  true,"  said  Hansford,  sorrowfully  ;  "  and 
is  there  then  no  hope  ?" 

"  Yes,  there  is  a  hope,"  said  Yirginia,  earnestly.  "  Let 
not  the  foolish  pride  of  consistency  prevent  you  from 
acknowledging  an  error  when  committed.  Boldly  and  man- 
fully renounce  the  career  into  which  impulse  has  driven  you. 
Return  to  your  allegiance — to  your  ancient  faith  ;  and  be- 
lieve me,  that  Yirginia  Temple  will  rejoice  more  in  your 
repentance  than  if  all  the  honours  of  martial  glory,  or  of 
civic  renown,  were  showered  upon  you.  She  would  rather 
be  the  trusting  wife  of  the  humble  and  repentant  servant  of 
his  king,  than  the  queen  of  a  sceptered  usurper,  who  clam- 
bered to  the  throne  through  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of 
faith  and  loyalty." 


1 64  HANSFOED : 

"  Oh,  Virginia  !"  said  Hansford,  struggling  hard  between 
duty  and  love. 

"  I  know  it  is  hard  to  conquer  the  fearful  pride  of  your 
heart,"  said  Virginia ;  "  but,  Hansford,  'tis  a  noble  courage 
that  is  victorious  in  such  a  contest.  Let  me  hear  your 
decision.  There  is  a  civil  war  in  your  heart,"  she  added, 
more  playfully,  "  and  that  rebel  pride  must  succumb  to  the 
strong  arm  of  your  own  self-government." 

"  In  God's  name,  tempt  me  no  further !"  cried  Hansford. 
"  We  may  well  believe  that  man  lost  his  high  estate  of 
happiness  by  the  allurements  of  woman,  since  even  now  the 
cause  of  truth  is  endangered  by  listening  to  her  per- 
suasions." 

"I  had  hoped,"  replied  the  young  girl,  aroused  by  this 
sudden  change  of  manner  on  the  part  of  her  lover,  "  that 
the  love  which  you  have  so  long  professed  was  something 
more  than  mere  profession.  But  be  it  so.  The  first  sacri- 
fice which  you  have  ever  been  called  upon  to  make  has 
estranged  your  heart  forever,  and  you  toss  aside  the  love 
which  you  pretended  so  fondly  to  cherish,  as  a  toy  no  longer 
worthy  of  your  regard." 

"  This  is  unkind,  Virginia,"  returned  Hansford,  in  an 
injured  tone.  "  I  have  not  deserved  this  at  your  hands. 
Sorely  you  have  tempted  me  ;  but,  thank  God,  not  even  the 
sweet  hope  which  you  extend  can  allure  me  from  my  duty. 
If  my  country  demand  the  sacrifice  of  my  heart,  then  let 
the  victim  be  bound  upon  her  altar.  The  sweet  memories 
of  the  past,  the  love  which  still  dwells  in  that  heart,  the 
crushed  hopes  of  the  future,  will  all  unite  to  form  the  sad 
garland  to  adorn  it  for  the  sacrifice. " 

The  tone  of  deep  melancholy  with  which  Hansford 
uttered  these  words  showed  how  painful  had  been  the 
struggle  through  which  he  had  passed.  It  had  its  effect, 
too,  upon  the  heart  of  Virginia.  She  felt  how  cruel  had 
been  her  language  just  before — how  unjust  had  been  her 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          165 

charge  of  inconstancy.  She  saw  at  once  the  fierce  contest 
in  Hansford's  breast,  in  which  duty  had  triumphed  over 
love.  Ingenuous  as  she  ever  was,  she  acknowledged  her 
fault,  and  wept,  and  was  forgiven. 

"  And  now,"  said  Hansford,  more  calmly,  "my  ow»  Vir- 
ginia— for  I  may  still  call  you  so — in  thus  severing  forever 
the  chain  which  has  bound  us,  I  do  not  renounce  my  love, 
nor  the  deep  interest  which  I  feel  in  your  future  destiny.  I 
love  you  too  dearly  to  wish  that  you  should  still  love  me  ; 
find  elsewhere  some  one  more  worthy  than  I  to  fill  your 
heart.  Forget  that  you  ever  loved  me  ;  if  you  can,  forget 
that  you  ever  knew  me.  And  yet,  as  a  friend,  let  me  warn 
you,  with  all  the  sincerity  of  my  heart,  to  beware  of  Alfred 
Bernard." 

"  Of  whom  ?"  asked  Virginia,  in  surprise. 

"  Of  that  serpent,  who,  with  gilded  crest  and  subtle 
guile,  would  intrude  into  the  garden  of  your  heart,"  con- 
tinued Hansford,  solemnly. 

"Why,  Hansford,"  said  Virginia,  "you  scarcely  know 
the  young  man  of  whom  you  speak.  Like  you,  my  friend, 
my  affections  are  buried  in  the  past.  I  can  never  love 
again.  But  yet  I  would  not  have  you  wrong  with  unjust 
suspicions  one  who  has  never  done  you  wrong.  On  the 
contrary,  even  in  my  brief  intercourse  with  him,  his  conduct 
towards  you  has  been  courteous  and  generous. " 

"  How  hard  is  it  for  innocence  to  suspect  guile,"  said 
Hansford.  "  My  sweet  girl,  these  very  professions  of 
generosity  towards  me,  have  but  sealed  my  estimate  of 
his  character.  For  me  he  entertains  the  deadliest  hate. 
Against  me  he  has  sworn  the  deadliest  vengeance.  I  tell 
you,  Virginia,  that  if  ever  kindly  nature  implanted  an  in- 
stinct in  the  human  heart  to  warn  it  of  approaching  danger, 
she  did  so  when  first  I  looked  upon  that  man.  My  subse- 
quent knowledge  of  him  but  strengthened  this  intuition. 


166  ,  HANSFORD: 

Mild,  insinuating,  and  artful,  he  is  more  to  be  feared  than 
an  open  foe.  I  dread  a  villain  when  I  see  him  smile." 

"Hush!  we  are  overheard,"  said  Virginia,  trembling, 
and  looking  around,  Hansford  saw  Arthur  Hutchinson, 
the  preacher,  emerging  from  the  shadow  of  an  adjacent 
elm  tree. 

"  Young  gentleman,"  said  Hutchinson,  in  his  soft  melo- 
dious voice,  "I  have  heard  unwillingly  what  perhaps  I 
should  not.  He  who  would  speak  in  the  darkness  of  the 
night  as  you  have  spoken  of  an  absent  man,  does  not  care 
to  have  many  auditors." 

"  And  he  who  would  screen  himself  in  that  darkness,  to 
hear  what  he  should  not,"  retorted  Hansford,  haughtily, 
"  is  not  the  man  to  resent  what  he  has  heard,  I  fear.  But 
what  I  say,  I  am  ready  to  maintain  with  my  sword — and 
if  you  be  a  friend  of  the  individual  of  whom  I  have  spoken, 
and  choose  to  espouse  his  quarrel,  let  me  conduct  this 
young  lady  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  I  will  return  to  grant 
such  satisfaction  as  you  or  your  principal  may  desire." 

"  This  young  maiden  will  tell  you,"  said  Hutchinson, 
"  that  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  acknowledge  that  bloody 
arbiter  between  man  and  man,  to  which  you  refer." 

"  Oh,  no  !"  cried  Virginia,  in  an  agitated  voice ;  "this  is 
the  good  parson  Hutchinson,  of  whom  you  have  heard. " 

"And  you,  maiden,"  said  Hutchinson,  "are  not  in  the 
path  of  duty.  Think  you  it  is  either  modest  or  becoming, 
to  leave  your  parents  and  your  home,  and  seek  a  clandes- 
tine interview  with  this  stranger.  Return  to  your  home. 
You  have  erred,  grossly  erred  in  this." 

"  Nay,"  cried  Hansford,  in  a  threatening  voice,  "  if  you 
say  ought  in  reproach  of  this  young  lady,  by  heavens,  your 
parson's  coat  will  scarce  protect  you  from  the  just  punish- 
ment of  your  insolence ;"  then  suddenly  checking  himself, 
he  added,  "Forgive  me,  sir,  this  hasty  folly.  I  believe 
you  mean  well,  although  your  language  is  something  of  the 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          16? 

most  offensive.  And  say  to  your  friend  Mr.  Bernard,  all 
that  you  have  heard,  and  tell  him  for  Major  Hansford,  that 
there  is  an  account  to  be  settled  between  us,  which  I  have 
not  forgotten." 

"  Hansford !"  cried  the  preacher,  with  emotion,  "  Hans- 
ford,  did  you  say  ?  Look  ye,  sir,  I  am  a  minister  of  peace, 
and  cannot  on  my  conscience  bear  your  hostile  message. 
But  I  warn  you,  if  your  name  indeed  be  Hansford,  that 
you  are  in  danger  from  the  young  man  of  whom  you  speak. 
His  blood  is  hot,  his  arm  is  skilful,  and  towards  you  his 
purpose  is  not  good." 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  timely  warning,  good  sir,"  re- 
turned Hansford,  haughtily;  "but  you  speak  of  danger  to 
one  who  regards  it  not."  Then  turning  to  Virginia,  he 
said  in  a  low  voice,  "  'Tis  at  least  a  blessing,  that  the  des- 
pair which  denies  to  the  heart  the  luxury  of  love,  at  least 
makes  it  insensible  to  fear." 

"And  are  you  such  an  one,"  said  Hutchinson,  overhear- 
ing him ;  "and  is  it  on  thee  that  the  iniquities  of  the  father 
will  be  visited.  Forbid  it,  gracious  heaven,  and  forgive  as 
thou  would'st  have  me  forgive  the  sins  of  the  past." 

"  Mr.  Hutchinson,"  said  Hausford,  annoyed  by  the 
preacher's  solemn  manner  and  mysterious  words,  "I 
know  nothing,  and  care  little  for  all  this  mystery.  Your 
brain  must  be  a  little  disordered — for  I  assure  you,  that  as  I 
was  born  in  the  colony,  and  you  are  but  a  recent  settler 
here,  it  is  impossible  that  there  can  be  any  such  mysterious 
tie  between  us  as  that  at  which  you  so  darkly  hint." 

"  The  day  may  come,"  replied  Hutchinson,  in  the  same 
solemn  manner,  "when  you  will  know  all  to  your  cost — 
and  when  you  may  find  that  care  and  sorrow  can  indeed 
shake  reason  on  her  throne." 

"  Well,  be  it  so,  but  as  you  value  your  safety,  urge  me 
no  further  with  these  menaces.  But  pardon  me,  how  came 
you  in  this  enclosure  ?  Know  you  not  that  you  are  within 


168  HANSFORD: 

the  boundaries  of  the  General's  camp,  against  his  strict 
orders  ?" 

"Aye,"  replied  the  preacher,  "I  knew  that  the  rebels 
were  encamped  hereabout,  but  I  did  not,  and  do  not,  see 
by  what  right  they  can  impede  a  peaceful  citizen  in  his 
movements." 

"Reverend  sir,"  said  Hansford,  "you  have  the  reputa- 
tion of  having  a  sound  head  on  your  shoulders,  and  should 
have  a  prudent  tongue  in  your  head.  I  would  advise 
you,  therefore,  to  refrain  from  the  too  frequent  use  of  that 
word  'rebel,'  which  just  fell  from  you.  But  it  is  time  we 
should  part.  I  will  conduct  you  to  the  gate  lest  you  find 
some  difficulty  in  passing  the  sentry,  and  you  will  oblige 
me,  kind  sir,  by  seeing  this  young  lady  to  her  home." 
Then  turning  to  Yirginia,  he  whispered  his  brief  adieu, 
and  imprinting  a  long,  warm  kiss  upon  her  lips,  he  led  the 
way  in  silence  to  the  gate.  Here  they  parted.  She  to 
return  to  her  quiet  chamber  to  mourn  over  hopes  thus  fled 
forever,  and  he  to  for  et  self  and  sorrow  in  the  stirring 
events  of  martial  life. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         1G9 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

"  In  the  service  of  mankind  to  be 
A  guardian  god  below ;  still  to  employ 
The  mind's  brave  ardour  in  heroic  aims, 
Such  as  may  raise  us  o'er  the  grovelling  herd 
And  make  us  shine  forever — that  is  life." 

Thomson, 

IN  a  short  time  the  bustle  and  stir  in  the  camp  of  the 
insurgents  announced  that  their  little  army  was  about  to 
commence  its  march.  Nathaniel  Bacon  rode  slowly  along 
Stuart  street,  at  the  head  of  the  soldiery,  and  leaving 
Jamestown  to  the  east,  extended  his  march  towards  the 
falls  of  James  river.  Here,  he  had  received  intelligence 
that  the  hostile  tribes  had  gathered  to  a  head,  and  he  deter- 
mined without  delay  to  march  upon  them  unawares,  and 
with  one  decisive  blow  to  put  an  end  to  the  war.  Flushed 
with  triumph;  he  thought,  the  soldiery  would  more  willingly 
and  efficiently  turn  their  arms  against  the  government,  and 
aid  in  carrying  out  his  darling  project  of  effecting  some 
organic  changes  in  the  charter  of  the  colony ;  if,  indeed,  it 
was  not  already  his  purpose  to  dissolve  the  political  con- 
nection of  Yirginia  with  the  mother  country. 

The  little  party  rode  on  in  silence  for  several  miles,  for 
each  was  buried  in  his  own  reflections.  Bacon,  with  his 
own  peculiar  views  of  ambition  and  glory,  felt  but  little 
sympathy  with  those  who  united  in  the  rebellion  for  the 
specific  object  of  a  march  against  the  savages.  Hansford 
was  meditating  on  the  heavy  sacrifice  which  he  had  made 
for  his  country's  service,  and  striving  to  see,  in  the  dim 
future,  some  gleam  of  hope  which  might  cheer  him  in  his 
gloom.  Lawrence  and  Drummond,  the  two  most  influential 
15 


170  HANSFORD: 

leaders  in  the  movement,  had  been  left  behind  in  Jamestown, 
their  place  of  residence,  to  watch  the  movements  of  Berke- 
ley, in  whose  fair  promises  none  of  the  insurgents  seemed 
to  place  implicit  confidence.  The  rest  of  the  little  party 
had  already  exhausted  in  discussion  the  busy  events  of  the 
day,  and  remained  silent  from  want  of  material  for  conver- 
sation. 

At  length,  however,  Bacon,  whose  knowledge  of  human 
nature  had  penetrated  the  depths  of  Harisford's  heart,  and 
who  felt  deeply  for  his  favourite,  gave  him  the  signal  to 
advance  somewhat  in  front  of  their  comrades,  and  the  fol- 
lowing conversation  took  place  : 

"  And  so,  my  friend,"  said  Bacon,  in  the  mild,  winning 
voice,  which  he  knew  so  well  how  to  assume ;  "  and  so,  my 
friend,  you  have  renounced  your  dearest  hopes  in  life  for 
this  glorious  enterprise." 

Hansford  only  answered  with  a  sigh. 

"  Take  it  not  thus  hardly,"  continued  Bacon.  "  Think 
of  your  loss  as  a  sacrifice  to  liberty.  Look  to  the  future 
for  your  happiness,  to  a  redeemed  and  liberated  country 
for  your  home — to  glory  as  your  bride." 

"  Alas !"  said  Hansford,  "  glory  could  never  repay  the 
loss  of  happiness.  Believe  me,  General,  that  personal  fame 
is  not  what  I  covet.  Far  better  would  it  be  for  me  to  have 
been  born  and  reared  in  obscurity,  and  to  pass  my  brief 
life  with  those  I  love,  than  for  the  glittering  bauble,  glory, 
to  give  up  all  that  is  dear  to  the  heart." 

"And  do  you  repent  the  course  you  have  taken,"  asked 
Bacon,  with  some  surprise. 

"  Repent !  no ;  God  forbid  that  I  should  repent  of  any 
sacrifice  which  I  have  made  to  the  cause  of  my  country. 
But  it  is  duty  that  prompts  me,  not  glory.  For  as  to  this 
selfsame  will-o'-the-wisp,  which  seems  to  allure  so  many 
from  happiness,  I  trust  it  not.  I  am  much  of  the  little 
Prince  Arthur's  mind — 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          Ill 

*  By  my  Christendom, 
So  I  were  out  of  prison  and  kept  sheep, 
I  should  be  as  merry  as  the  day  is  long.' 

Duty  is  the  prison  which  at  last  keeps  man  from  enjoying 
his  own  happier  inclination." 

"There  you  are  wrong,  Hansford,"  said  Bacon,  "duty 
is  the  poor  drudge,  which,  patient  in  its  harness,  pursues 
the  will  of  another.  Glory  is  the  wild,  un confined  eagle, 
that  impatient  of  restraint  would  soar  to  a  heaven  of  its 
own." 

"  And  is  it  such  an  object  as  this  that  actuates  you  in 
our  present  enterprise  ?"  asked  Hansford. 

"  Both,"  replied  the  enthusiastic  leader.  "  Man,  in  his 
actions,  is  controlled  by  many  forces — and  duty  is  chiefly 
prized  when  it  waits  as  the  humble  handmaiden  on  glory. 
But  in  this  enterprise  other  feelings  enter  in  to  direct  my 
course.  Revenge  against  these  relentless  wolves  of  the 
forest  for  the  murder  of  a  friend — revenge  against  that 
proud  old  tyrant,  Berkeley,  who,  clothed  in  a  little  brief 
authority,  would  trample  me  under  his  feet — love  of  my 
country,  which  impels  me  to  aid  in  her  reformation,  and  to 
secure  her  liberty — and,  nay,  don't  frown — desire  for  that 
fame  which  is  to  the  mere  discharge  of  plain  duty  what  the 
spirit  is  to  the  body — which  directs  and  sustains  it  here, 
but  survives  its  dissolution.  Are  not  these  sufficient  mo- 
tives of  action  ?" 

"Pardon  me,  General,"  said  Hansford,  "but  I  see  only 
one  motive  here  which  is  worthy  of  you.  Self-preservation, 
not  revenge,  could  alone  justify  an  assault  upon  these  mis- 
guided savages — and  your  love  of  country  is  sufficient 
inducement  to  urge  you  to  her  protection  and  defence. 
But  these  motives  are  chiefly  personal  to  yourself.  How 
can  you  expect  them  to  affect  the  minds  of  your  followers  ?" 

"Look  ye,  Major  Hansford,"  said  Bacon,  "I  speak  to 
you  as  I  do  not  to  most  men — because  I  know  you  have  a 


172  HANSFORD: 

mind  and  a  heart  superior  to  them — I  would  dare  not 
attempt  to  influence  you  as  I  do  others ;  but  do  you  see 
those  poor  trusting  fellows  that  are  following  in  our  wake  ? 
These  men  help  men  like  you  and  me  to  rise,  as  feathers 
help  the  eagle  to  soar  above  the  clouds.  But  the  proud 
bird  may  moult  a  feather  from  his  pinion  without  des- 
cending from  his  lofty  pride  of  place." 

"  And  this  then  is  what  you  call  liberty  ?"  said  Hansford, 
a  little  offended  at  the  overbearing  manner  of  the  young 
demagogue. 

"  Certainly,"  returned  Bacon,  calmly,  "the  only  liberty 
for  which  the  mass  of  mankind  are  fitted.  The  instincts  of 
nature  point  them  to  the  man  most  worthy  to  control  their 
destinies.  Their  brute  force  aids  in  elevating  him  to  power 
— and  then  he  returns  upon  their  heads  the  blessings  with 
which  they  have  entrusted  him.  Do  you  remember  the 
happy  compliment  of  my  old  namesake  of  St.  Albans  to 
Queen  Elizabeth  ?  Royalty  is  the  heaven  which,  like  the 
blessed  sun,  exhales  the  moisture  from  the  earth,  and  then 
distilling  it  in  gentle  rains,  it  falleth  on  the  heads  of  those 
from  whom  she  has  received  it." 

"  I  remember  the  compliment,  which  beautiful  though  it 
may  be  in  imagery,  I  always  thought  was  but  the  empty 
flattery  of  a  vain  old  royal  spinster  by  an  accomplished 
courtier.  I  never  suspected  that  St.  Albans,  far  less  his 
relative,  Nathaniel  Bacon,  believed  it  to  be  true.  And  so, 
with  all  your  high  flown  doctrines  of  popular  rights  and 
popular  liberty,  you  are  an  advocate  for  royalty  at  last." 

"  Nay,  you  mistake  me,  I  will  not  say  wilfully,"  replied 
Bacon,  in  an  offended  tone ,  "  I  merely  used  the  sentiment 
as  an  illustration  of  what  I  had  been  saying.  The  people 
must  have  rulers,  and  my  idea  of  liberty  only  extends  to  their 
selection  of  them.  After  that,  stability  in  government  re- 
quires that  the  power  of  the  people  should  cease,  and  that 
of  the  ruler  begin.  You  may  purify  the  stream  through 


A   TALE   OF    BACON'S   REBELLION".  173 

which  the  power  flows,  by  constantly  resorting  to  the  foun- 
tain head;  but  if  you  keep  the  power  pent  up  in  the  foun- 
tain, like  water,  it  will  stagnate  and  become  impure,  or  else 
overflow  its  banks  and  devastate  that  soil  which  it  was  in- 
tended to  fertilize. " 

"  Our  ideas  of  liberty,  I  confess,"  said  Hansford,  "differ 
very  widely.  God  grant  that  our  antagonistic  yiews  may 
not  prejudice  the  holy  cause  in  which  we  are  now  engaged." 

"  Well,  let  us  drop  the  subject  then,"  said  Bacon,  care- 
lessly, "as  there  is  so  little  prospect  of  our  agreeing  in 
sentiment.  What  I  said  was  merely  meant  to  while  away 
this  tedious  journey,  and  make  you  forget  your  own  private 
griefs.  But  tell  me,  what  do  you  think  of  the  result  of  this 
enterprise  ?" 

"  I  think  it  attended  with  great  danger,"  replied  Hans- 
ford. 

"  I  had  not  thought,"  returned  Bacon,  with  something 
between  a  smile  and  a  sneer,  "  that  Thomas  Hansford  would 
have  considered  the  question  of  peril  involved  in  a  contest 
like  this." 

"  I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand  your  meaning,"  said  Hans- 
ford,  indignantly.  "  If  you  think  I  regard  danger  for 
myself,  I  tell  you  that  it  is  a  feeling  as  far  a  stranger  to 
rny  bosom  as  to  your  own,  and  this  I  am  ready  to  maintain. 
If  you  meant  no  offence,  I  will  merely  say  that  it  is  the 
part  of  every  general  to  '  sit  down  and  consider  the  cost7 
before  engaging  in  any  enterprise." 

"  Why  will  you  be  so  quick  to  take  offence  ?"  said  Bacon. 
"Do  I  not  know  that  fear  is  a  stranger  to  your  breast  ? — else 
why  confide  in  you  as  I  have  done  ?  But  I  spoke  not  of 
the  danger  attending  our  enterprise.  To  me  danger  is  not 
a  matter  of  indifference,  it  is  an  object  of  desire.  They 
who  would  bathe  in  a  Stygian  wave,  to  render  them  invul- 
nerable, are  not  worthy  of  the  name  of  heroes.  It  is  only  the 
unmailed  warrior,  whose  form,  like  the  white  plume  of 
15* 


174  HANSFORD: 

Navarre,  is  seen  where  danger  is  the  thickest,  that  is  truly 
brave  and  truly  great." 

"  You  are  a  singular  being,  Bacon,"  said  Hansford,  with 
admiration,  "  and  were  born  to  be  a  hero.  But  tell  me, 
what  is  it  that  you  expect  or  hope  for  poor  Virginia,  when 
all  your  objects  may  be  attained  ?  She  is  still  but  a  poor, 
helpless  colony,  sapped  of  her  resources  by  a  relentless 
sovereign,  and  expected  to  submit  quietly  to  the  oppres- 
sions of  those  who  would  enslave  her." 

"By  heavens,  no  !"  cried  Bacon,  impetuously.  "  It  shall 
never  be.  Her  voice  has  been  already  heard  by  haughty 
England,  and  it  shall  again  be  heard  in  thunder  tones.  She 
who  yielded  not  to  the  call  of  an  imperious  dictator — she 
who  proposed  terms  to  Cromwell — will  not  long  bear  the 
insulting  oppression  of  the  imbecile  Stuarts.  The  day  is 
coming,  and  now  is,  when  on  this  Western  continent  shall 
arise  a  nation,  before  whose  potent  sway  even  Britain  shall 
be  forced  to  bow.  Virginia  shall  be  the  Rome  and  Eng- 
land shall  be  the  Troy,  and  history  will  record  the  annals 
of  that  haughty  and  imperious  kingdom  chiefly  because  she 
was  the  mother  of  this  western  Rome.  Yes,"  he  continued, 
borne  along  impetuously  by  his  own  gushing  thoughts, 
"  there  shall  come  a  time  when  Freedom  will  look  west- 
ward for  her  home,  and  when  the  oppressed  of  every  nation 
shall  watch  with  anxious  eye  that  star  of  Freedom  in  its 
onward  course,  and  follow  its  bright  guidance  till  it  stands 
over  the  place  where  Virginia — this  young  child  of 
Liberty — is  ;  and  oh  !  Hansford,  will  it  then  be  nothing 
that  we  were  among  those  who  watched  the  infant  breath- 
ings of  that  political  Saviour — who  gave  it  the  lessons  of 
wisdom  and  of  virtue,  and  first  taught  it  to  speak  and  pro- 
claim its  mission  to  the  world  ?  Will  it  then  be  nothing 
for  future  generations  to  point  to  our  names,  and,  in  the 
language  of  pride  and  gratitude,  to  cry,  there  go  the 
authors  of  our  freedom  ?" 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          175 

So  spake  the  young  enthusiast,  thus  dimly  foreshadowing 
the  glory  that  was  to  be — the  freedom  which,  just  one 
hundred  years  from  that  eventful  period,  burst  upon  the 
world.  He  was  not  permitted,  like  Simeon  of  old,  to  see 
the  salvation  for  which  he  longed,  and  for  which  he  wrought. 
And  yet  he  helped  to  plant  the  germ,  which  expanded  into 
the  wide-spreading  tree,  and  his  name  should  not  be  for- 
gotten by  those  who  rejoice  in  its  fruit,  or  rest  secure 
beneath  its  shade. 

Thus  whiling  away  the  hours  of  the  night  in  such 
engrossing  subjects,  Hansford  had  nearly  forgotten  his  sor- 
rows in  the  visions  of  the  future.  How  beneficent  the 
Providence  which  thus  enables  the  mind  to  receive  from 
without  entirely  new  impressions,  which  soften  down,  though 
they  cannot  erase,  the  wounds  that  a  harsh  destiny  has 
inflicted. 

But  it  is  time  that  the  thread  of  our  narrative  was  bro- 
ken, in  order  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  an  humble,  yet  wor- 
thy character  of  our  story. 


176  HANSFORD: 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 

"  I  am  sorry  for  thee ;  thou  art  come  to  answer 
A  Stony  adversary,  an  inhuman  wretch, 
Uncapable  of  pity,  void  and  empty 
From  any  claim  of  mercy." 

Merchant  of  Venice. 

IT  was  on  a  bright  and  beautiful  morning — for  mys- 
terious nature  often  smiles  on  the  darkest  deeds  of  her 
children — that  a  group  of  Indians  were  assembled  around 
the  council-fire  in  one  of  the  extensive  forest  ranges  of 
Virginia.  Their  faces  painted  in  the  most  grotesque  and 
hideous  manner,  the  fierceness  of  their  looks,  and  the 
savageness  of  their  dress,  would  alone  have  inspired  awe 
in.  the  breast  of  a  spectator.  But  on  the  present  occasion, 
the  fatal  business  in  which  they  were  engaged  imparted 
even  more  than  usual  wildness  to  their  appearance  and 
vehemence  to  their  manner.  Bound  to  a  neighbouring 
tree  so  tightly  as  to  produce  the  most  acute  pain  to  the 
poor  creature,  was  an  aged  negro,  who  seemed  to  be  the 
object  of  the  vehement  eloquence  of  his  savage  captors. 
Although  confinement,  torture,  and  despair  had  effected 
a  fearful  change,  by  tracing  the  lines  of  great  suffering  on 
his  countenance,  yet  it  would  not  have  been  difficult  even 
then  to  recognize  in  the  poor  trembling  wretch  our  old 
negro  friend  at  Windsor  Hall. 

After  discovering  the  deception  that  had  been  practised 
on  them  by  Mamalis,  and  punishing  the  selfish  ambition  of 
Manteo,  by  expelling  him  from  their  tribe,  the  Indian  war- 
riors returned  to  Windsor  Hall,  and  finding  the  family  had 
escaped,  seized  upon  old  Giles  as  the  victim  on  whom  to 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          ITT 

wreak  their  vengeance.  With  the  savage  cruelty  of  their 
race,  his  tormentors  had  doomed  him,  not  to  sudden  death, 
which  would  have  been  welcome  to  the  miserable  wretch, 
but  to  a  slow  and  lingering  torture. 

It  would  be  too  painful  to  dwell  long  upon  the  nature  of 
the  tortures  thus  inflicted  upon  their  victims.  With  all 
their  coarseness  and  rudeness  of  manner  and  life,  the  In- 
dians had  arrived  at  a  refinement  and  skill  in  cruelty  which 
the  persecutors  of  the  reformers  in  Europe  might  envy,  but 
to  which  they  had  never  attained.  Among  these,  tearing 
the  nails  from  the  hands  and  feet,  knocking  out  the  teeth 
with  a  club,  lacerating  the  flesh  with  rough,  dull  muscle 
and  oyster-shells,  inserting  sharp  splinters  into  the  wounded 
flesh,  and  then  firing  them  until  the  unhappy  being  is  gra- 
dually roasted  to  death — these  were  among  the  tortures 
more  frequently  inflicted.  From  the  threats  and  prepara- 
tions of  his  captors,  old  Giles  had  reason  to  apprehend 
that  the  worst  of  these  tortures  he  would  soon  be  called 
upon  to  endure. 

There  is,  thank  God,  a  period,  when  the  burdens  of  this 
life  become  so  grievous,  that  the  prayer  of  the  fabled  faggot- 
binder  may  rise  sincerely  on  the  lips,  and  when  death  would 
indeed  be  a  welcome  friend — when  it  is  even  soothing  to 
reflect  that, 

"We  bear  our  heavy  burdens  but  a  journey, 
Till  death  unloads  us." 

Such  was  the  period  at  which  the  wretched  negro  had 
now  arrived  He  listened,  therefore,  with  patient  compo- 
sure to  the  fierce,  threatening  language  of  the  warriors, 
which  his  former  association  with  Manteo  enabled  him, 
when  aided  by  their  wild  gesticulation,  to  comprehend. 
But  it  was  far  from  the  intention  of  the  Indians  to  release 
him  yet  from  his  terrible  existence.  One  of  the  braves 
approaching  the  poor  helpless  wretch  with  a  small  cord  of 


H8  HANSFORD: 

catgut,  such  as  was  used  by  them  for  bow-strings,  prepared 
to  bind  it  tightly  around  his  thumb,  while  the  others  gather- 
ing around  in  a  circle  waved  their  war-clubs  high  in  air  to 
inflict  the  painful  bastinado.  When  old  Giles  saw  the 
Indian  approach,  and  fully  comprehended  his  design,  his 
heart  sank  within  him  at  this  new  instrument  of  torture, 
and  in  despairing  accents  he  groaned — 

"  Kill  me,  kill  me,  but  for  de  Lord's  sake,  massa,  don't 
put  dat  horrid  thing  on  de  poor  old  nigga." 

Regardless  of  his  cries,  the  powerful  Indian  adjusted  the 
cord,  and  with  might  and  main  drew  it  so  tightly  around 
the  thumb  that  it  entered  the  flesh  even  to  the  bone,  while 
the  poor  negro  shrieked  in  agony.  Then,  to  drown  the 
cry,  the  other  savages  commencing  a  wild,  rude  chant,  let 
their  war-clubs  descend  upon  their  victim  with  such  force 
that  he  fainted.  Just  at  this  moment  the  quick  ears  of  the 
Indians  caught  the  almost  inaudible  sound  of  approaching 
horsemen,  and  as  they  paused  to  satisfy  themselves  of  the 
truth  of  their  suspicions,  Bacon  and  his  little  band  of  faith- 
ful followers  appeared  full  in  sight.  Leaving  their  victim 
in  a  moment,  the  savages  prepared  to  defend  themselves 
from  the  assault  of  their  intruders,  and  with  the  quickness 
of  thought,  concealing  themselves  behind  the  trees  and 
undergrowth  of  the  forest,  they  sent  a  shower  of  arrows 
into  the  unwary  ranks  of  their  adversaries. 

"  By  Jove,  that  had  like  to  have  been  my  death-stroke," 
cried  Bacon,  as  an  arrow  directed  full  against  his  breast, 
glanced  from  a  gilt  button  of  his  coat  and  fell  harmless  to 
the  ground.  But  others  of  the  party  were  not  so  fortunate 
as  their  leader.  Several  of  the  men,  pierced  by  the  poisoned 
arrows  of  the  enemy,  fell  dead. 

Notwithstanding  the  success  of  this  first  charge  of  the 
Indians,  Bacon  and  his  party  sustained  the  shock  with 
coolness  and  intrepidity.  Their  gallant  leader,  himself 
careless  of  life  or  safety,  led  the  charge,  and  on  his  power- 


A   TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  It 9 

ful  horse  he  was,  like  the  royal  hero  to  whom  he  had  com- 
pared himself,  ever  seen  in  the  thickest  of  the  carnage. 
Well  did  he  prove  himself  that  day  worthy  of  the  confi- 
dence of  his  faithful  followers. 

Nor  loth  were  the  Indians  to  return  their  charge. 
Although  their  party  only  amounted  to  about  fifty,  and 
Bacon's  men  numbered  several  hundred,  yet  was  the  idea 
of  retreat  abhorrent  to  their  martial  feelings.  Screening 
themselves  with  comparative  safety  behind  the  large  forest 
trees,  or  lying  under  the  protection  of  the  thick  under- 
growth, they  kept  up  a  constant  attack  with  their  arrows, 
and  succeeded  in  effecting  considerable  loss  to  the  whites, 
who,  incommoded  by  their  horses,  or  unaccustomed  to  this 
system  of  bush  fighting,  failed  to  produce  a  corresponding 
effect  upon  their  savage  foe. 

There  was  something  in  the  religion  of  these  simple  sons 
of  the  forest  which  imparted  intrepid  boldness  to  their 
characters,  unattainable  by  ordinary  discipline.  The  mate- 
rial conception  which  they  entertained  of  the  spirit-world, 
where  valour  and  heroism  were  the  passports  of  admission, 
created  a  disregard  for  life  such  as  no  civilized  man  could 
well  entertain.  In  that  new  land,  to  which  death  was  but 
the  threshold,  their  pursuits  were  the  same  in  character, 
though  greater  in  degree,  as  those  in  which  they  here 
engaged.  There  they  would  be  welcomed  by  the  brave 
warriors  of  a  former  day,  and  engage  still  in  fierce  contests 
with  hostile  tribes.  There  they  would  enjoy  the  delights 
of  the  chase  through  spirit  forests,  deeper  and  more  gigan- 
tic than  those  through  which  they  wandered  in  life.  Theirs 
was  the  Yalhalla  to  which  the  brave  alone  were  admitted, 
and  among  whose  martial  habitants  would  continue  the 
same  emulation  in  battle,  the  same  stoicism  in  suffering,  as 
in  their  forest-world.  Such  was  the  character  of  their 
simple  religion,  which  created  in  their  breasts  that  heroism 


180  HANSPORD  : 

and  fortitude,  in  danger  or  in  pain,  that  has  with  one  accord 
been  attributed  to  them. 

But  despite  their  valour  and  resolution,  the  contest,  with 
such  disparity  of  numbers,  must  needs  be  brief.  Bacon 
pursued  each  advantage  which  he  gained  with  relentless 
vigour,  ever  and  anon  cheering  his  followers,  and  crying 
out,  as  he  rushed  onward  to  the  charge,  "  Don't  let  one  of 
the  bloody  dogs  escape.  Remember,  my  gallant  boys,  the 
peace  of  your  firesides  and  the  lives  and  safety  of  your 
wives  and  children.  Remember  the  brave  men  who  have 
already  fallen  before  the  hand  of  the  savage  foe." 

Faithful  to  his  injunction,  the  overwhelming  power  of 
the  whites  soon  strewed  the  ground  with  the  bodies  of  the 
brave  savages.  The  few  who  remained,  dispirited  and 
despairing,  fled  through  the  forest  from  the  irresistible 
charge  of  the  enemy. 

Meantime  the  unfortunate  Giles  had  recovered  from  the 
swoon  into  which  he  had  fallen,  and  began  to  look  wildly 
about  him,  as  though  in  a  dream.  To  the  fact  that  the 
contending  parties  had  been  closely  engaged,  and  that  from 
this  cause  not  a  gun  had  been  fired,  the  old  negro  probably 
owed  his  life.  With  the  superstition  of  his  race,  the  poor 
creature  attributed  this  fortunate  succour  to  a  miraculous 
interposition  of  Providence  in  his  behalf;  and  when  he  saw 
the  last  of  his  oppressors  flying  before  the  determined  on- 
slaught of  the  white  men,  he  fervently  cried, 

"  Thank  the  Lord,  for  he  done  sent  his  angels  to  stop  de 
lion's  mouf,  and  to  save  de  poor  old  nigger  from  dere 
hands." 

"  Hallo,  comrades,"  said  Berkenhead,  when  he  espied  the 
poor  old  negro  bound  to  the  tree,  "  who  have  we  here  ? 
This  must  be  old  Ochee*  himself,  whom  the  Lord  has 

*  The  evil  spirit,  sometimes  called  Opitchi  Manitou,  and  worshipped 
by  the  Indians, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         181 

delivered  into  our  hands.  Hark  ye,"  he  added,  proceeding 
to  unbind  him,  "  where  do  you  come  from  ? — or  are  you  in 
reality  the  evil  one,  whom  these  infidel  red-skins  worship  ?" 

"  Oh,  no,  Massa,  I  a'ant  no  evil  sperrit.  A  sperrit  hab 
not  flesh  and  bones  as  you  see  me  hab." 

"  Nay,"  returned  the  coarse-hearted  soldier,  "  that  rea- 
soning won't  serve  your  purpose,  for  there  is  precious  little 
flesh  and  blood  about  you,  old  man.  The  most  you  can 
lay  claim  to  is  skin  and  bones." 

Hansford,  who  had  been  standing  a  little  distance  off, 
was  attracted  by  this  conversation,  and  turning  in  the 
direction  of  the  old  negro,  was  much  surprised  to  recog- 
nize, under  such  horrible  circumstances,  the  quondam 
steward,  butler  and  factotum  of  Windsor  Hall.  Nor  was 
Giles'  surprise  less  in  meeting  with  Miss  Virginia's  "buck" 
in  so  secluded  a  spot.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  Hansford 
could  prevent  him  from  throwing  his  arms  around  his  neck ; 
but  giving  the  old  man  a  hearty  shake  of  the  hand,  he 
asked  him  the  story  of  his  captivity,  which  Giles,  with  much 
importance,  proceeded  to  relate.  But  he  had  scarcely 
begun  his  narrative,  when  the  attention  of  the  insurgents 
was  attracted  by  the  approach  of  two  horsemen,  who  ad- 
vanced towards  them  at  a  rapid  rate,  as  though  they  had 
some  important  intelligence  to  communicate. 

16 


182  HANSFORD: 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

"  Who  builds  his  hope  in  air  of  your  fair  looks, 
Lives  like  a  drunken  sailor  on  a  mast." 

Eichard  HI. 

THE  new  comers  were  Lawrence  and  Drummond,  who,  as 
will  be  recollected  by  the  reader,  were  left  in  Jamestown  to 
watch  the  proceedings  of  the  Governor,  and  to  convey  to 
Bacon  any  needful  intelligence  concerning  them.  Although 
he  had,  in  the  first  impulse  of  triumph  after  receiving  his 
commission,  confided  fully  in  the  promises  of  the  vacillating 
Berkeley,  yet,  on  reflection,  Bacon  did  not  rely  very  impli- 
citly upon  them.  The  Governor  had  once  before  broken 
his  word  in  the  affair  of  the  parole,  promising  to  grant  the 
commission  which  he  craved,  upon  condition  of  his  confes- 
sion of  his  former  disloyal  conduct  and  his  promise  to 
amend.  Bacon  was  not  the  man  to  be  twice  deceived,  and 
it  did  not  therefore  much  surprise  him  to  see  the  two 
patriots  so  soon  after  his  departure  from  Jamestown,  nor  to 
hear  the  strange  tidings  which  they  had  come  to  detail. 

"  Why,  how  is  this,  General  ?"  said  Lawrence.  "  You 
have  had  bloody  work  already,  it  seems ;  and  not  without 
some  loss  to  your  own  party." 

"  Yes,  there  they  lie,"  returned  Bacon.  "  God  rest  their 
brave  souls !  But  being  dead,  they  yet  speak — speak  to 
us  to  avenge  their  death  on  the  bloody  savages  who  have 
slaughtered  them,  and  to  proclaim  the  insane  policy  of 
Berkeley  in  delaying  our  march  against  the  foe.  But  what 
make  you  from  Jamestown  ?" 

"  Bad  news  or  good,  General,  as  you  choose  to  take  it," 
replied  Lawrence.  "  Berkeley  has  dissolved  the  Assembly 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.         183 

in  a  rage,  because  they  supported  you  in  your  demand  of 
yesterday,  and  has  himself,  with  his  crouching  minions, 
retired  to  Gloucester." 

"  To  Gloucester  I"  cried  Bacon.  "  That  is  indeed  news. 
But  what  can  the  old  dotard  mean  by  such  a  movement  ?" 
"  He  has  already  made  known  his  reasons,"  returned 
Lawrence.  "  He  has  cancelled  your  commission,  and  pro- 
claimed you,  and  all  engaged  with  you,  as  rebels  and 
traitors." 

"  Why,  this  is  infamous  1"  said  Bacon.  "  Is  the  old 
knave  such  an  enemy  to  truth  that  it  cannot  live  upon  his 
lips  for  one  short  day  ?  And  who,  pray,  is  rash  enough  to 
uphold  him  in  his  despotism,  or  base  enough  to  screen  him 
in  his  infamy  ?" 

"  It  was  whispered  as  we  left,"  said  Drummond,  "  that  a 
certain  Colonel  Henry  Temple  had  avouched  the  loyalty  of 
Gloucester,  and  prevailed  upon  the  Governor  to  make  his 
house  his  castle,  during  what  he  is  pleased  to  term  this 
unhappy  rebellion." 

"  And  by  my  soul,"  said  Bacon,  fiercely,  "  I  will  teach 
this  certain  Colonel  Henry  Temple  the  hazard  that  he  runs 
in  thus  abetting  tyranny  and  villainy.  If  he  would  not 
have  his  house  beat  down  over  his  ears,  he  were  wise  to 
withdraw  his  aid  and  support ;  else,  if  his  house  be  a  castle 
at  all,  it  is  like  to  be  a  castle  in  Spain. " 

Hansford,  who  was  an  eager  listener,  as  we  may  suppose, 
to  the  foregoing  conversation,  was  alarmed  at  this  deter- 
mination of  his  impulsive  leader.  He  knew  too  well  the 
obstinate  loyalty  of  Temple  to  doubt  that  he  would  resist 
at  every  hazard,  rather  than  deliver  his  noble  guest  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemies.  He  felt  assured,  too,  that  if  the  re- 
port were  true,  Virginia  had  accompanied  her  father  to 
Gloucester,  and  his  very  soul  revolted  at  the  idea  of  her 
being  subjected  to  the  disagreeable  results  which  would  flow 
from  an  attack  upon  Windsor  Hall.  The  only  chance  of 


184  HANSFORD: 

avoiding  the  difficulty,  was  to  offer  his  own  mediation,  and 
in  the  event,  which  he  foresaw,  of  Colonel  Temple  refusing 
to  come  to  terms,  he  trusted  that  there  was  at  least  mag- 
nanimity enough  left  in  the  old  Governor  to  induce  him  to 
seek  some  other  refuge,  rather  than  to  subject  his  hospitable 
and  loyal  host  to  the  consequences  of  his  kindness.  There 
was  indeed  some  danger  attending  such  a  mission  in  the 
present  inflamed  state  of  Berkeley's  mind.  But  this,  Hans- 
ford  held  at  naught.  Hastily  revolving  in  his  mind  these 
thoughts,  he  ventured  to  suggest  to  Bacon,  that  an  attack 
upon  Colonel  Temple's  house  would  result  in  the  worst  con- 
sequences to  the  cause  of  the  patriots  ;  that  it  would  effect 
no  good,  as  the  Governor  might  again  promise,  and  again 
recant — and,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  induce  his  followers 
to  embark  in  an  enterprise  so  foreign  to  the  avowed  object 
of  the  expedition,  and  against  a  man  whose  character  was 
well  known,  and  beloved  by  the  people  of  the  Colony. 

Bacon  calmly  heard  him  through,  as  though  struck  with 
the  truth  of  the  views  he  presented,  and  then  added  with  a 
sarcastic  smile,  which  stung  Hansford  to  the  quick,  "  and 
moreover,  the  sight  of  soldiers  and  of  fire-arms  might  alarm 
the  ladies." 

"  And,  if  such  a  motive  as  that  did  influence  my  opinion," 
said  Hansford,  "  I  hope  it  was  neither  unworthy  a  soldier 
or  a  man." 

"  Unworthy  alike  of  both,"  replied  Bacon,  "  of  a  soldier, 
because  the  will  and  command  of  his  superior  officer  should 
be  his  only  law — and  of  a  man,  because,  in  a  cause  affecting 
his  rights  and  liberties,  any  sacrifice  of  feeling  should  be 
willingly  and  cheerfully  made." 

"That  sacrifice  I  now  make,"  said  Hansford,  vainly  en- 
deavouring to  repress  his  indignation,  "in  not  retorting 
more  harshly  to  your  imputation.  The  time  may  yet  come 
when  no  such  sacrifice  shall  be  required,  and  when  none,  I 
assure  you,  shall  be  made." 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         185 

"And,  when  it  comes,  young  man,"  returned  Bacon, 
haughtily,  "  be  assured  that  I  will  not  be  backward  in  af- 
fording you  an  opportunity  of  defending  yourself — mean- 
time you  are  under  my  command — and  will  please  remember 
that  you  are  so.  But,  gentlemen,"  he  continued,  turning 
to  the  others,  "  what  say  you  'to  our  conduct  in  these  cir- 
cumstances. Shall  we  proceed  to  Powhatan,  against  the 
enemy  of  a  country  to  which  we  are  traitors,  or  shall  we 
march  on  this  mendacious  old  Knight,  and  once  again  wipe 
off  the  stigma  which  he  has  placed  upon  our  names  ?" 

"  I  think,"  said  Lawrence,  after  a  pause  of  some  moments, 
"  that  there  is  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  the  views  presented 
by  Major  Hansford.  But,  could  not  some  middle  course  be 
adopted.  I  don't  exactly  see  how  it  can  be  effected,  but, 
if  the  Governor  were  met  by  remonstrance  of  his  injustice, 
and  informed  of  our  determination  to  resist  it  as  such,  it 
seems  to  me  that  he  would  be  forced  to  recant  this  last  pro- 
clamation, and  all  would  be  well  again!" 

"  And  who  think  you  would  carry  the  remonstrance,"  said 
Bacon.  "  It  would  be  about  as  wise  to  thrust  your  head 
in  a  lion's  mouth,  as  to  trust  yourself  in  the  hands  of  the 
old  fanatic.  I  know  not  whom  we  could  get  to  bear  such 
a  mission,"  he  added,  smiling,  "  unless  our  friend  Ingram 
there,  who  having  been  accustomed  to  ropes  in  his  youth, 
if  report  speaks  true,  need  have  no  fear  of  them  in  age.  "* 

"In  faith,  General,"  replied  the  quondam  rope-dancer, 
"I  am  only  expert  in  managing  the  cable  when  it  supports 
my  feet.  But  I  have  never  been  able  to  perform  the  feat 
of  dancing  on  nothing  and  holding  on  by  my  neck." 

"  General  Bacon,"  said  Hansford,  stepping  forward,  "  I 
am  willing  to  execute  your  mission  to  the  Governor." 

"  My  dear  boy,"  said  Bacon,  grasping  him  warmly  by  the 
hand,  "forgive  me  for  speaking  so  roughly  to  you  just  now, 

*  He  was  in  truth  a  rope-dancer  in  his  early  life. 

16* 


186  HANSFOKD: 

I  am  almost  ready  to  cut  my  tongue  out  of  my  head  for 
having  said  anything  to  wound  your  feelings.  But  damn 
that  old  treacherous  fox,  he  inflamed  me  so,  that  I  must 
have  let  out  some  of  my  bad  humour  or  choked  in  retaining 
it." 

Hansford  returned  his  grasp  warmly,  perhaps  the  more 
ready  to  forgive  and  forget,  as  he  saw  a  prospect  of  attain- 
ing his  object  in  protecting  the  family  of  his  friend  from 
harm. 

"But  you  shall  not  go,"  continued  Bacon.  "It  were 
madness  to  venture  within  the  clutch  of  the  infuriated  old 
madman." 

"  Whatever  were  the  danger,"  said  Hansford,  "this  was 
my  proposition,  and  on  me  devolves  the  peril,  if  peril  there 
be  in  its  execution.  But  there  is  really  none.  Colonel 
Temple,  although  a  bigot  in  his  loyalty,  is  the  last  person 
to  violate  the  rites  of  hospitality  or  to  despise  a  flag  of  truce, 
And  Sir  William  Berkeley  dare  not  disregard  either  whilst 
under  his  roof. " 

"Well,  so  let  it  be  then,"  said  Bacon,  "but  I  fear  that 
you  place  too  much  reliance  on  the  good  faith  of  your  old 
friend  Temple.  Believe  me,  that  these  Tories  hold  a  doc- 
trine in  their  political  creed,  very  much  akin  to  the  Papal 
doctrine  of  intolerance.  '  Faith  towards  heretics,  is  infi- 
delity to  religion. '  But  you  must  at  least  take  some  force 
with  you." 

"I  believe  not,"  returned  our  hero,  "the  presence  of  aii 
armed  force  would  be  an  insuperable  barrier  to  a  reconcilia- 
tion. I  will  only  take  my  subaltern,  Berkenhead,  yonder, 
and  that  poor  old  negro,  in  whose  liberation  I  sincerely  re- 
joice. The  first  will  be  a  companion,  and  in  case  of  danger 
some  protection  ;  and  the  last,  if  you  choose,"  he  added 
smiling,  ".  will  be  a  make-peace  between  the  political  papist 
and  the  rebel  heretic." 

"  Well,  God  bless  you,  Hansford,"  said  Bacon,  with  much 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.         1ST 

warmth,  "  and  above  all,  forget  my  haste  and  unkindness 
just  now.  We  must  learn  to  forgive  like  old  Romans,  if 
we  would  be  valiant  like  them,  and  so 

'  When  I  am  over-earnest  with  you,  Hansford, 
You'll  think  old  Berkeley  chides,  and  leave  me  so.' " 

"  With  all  my  heart,  my  noble  General,"  returned  Hans- 
ford,  laughing,  "and  now  for  my  mission — what  shall  I  say 
on  behalf  of  treason  to  his  royal  highness  ?" 

"  Tell  him,"  said  Bacon,  gravely,  "  that  Nathaniel  Bacon, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  special  trust  and  confidence 
of  Sir  William  Berkeley,  general-in-chief  of  the  armies  of 
Yirginia,  desires  to  know  for  what  act  of  his,  since  such 
trust  was  reposed  in  him,  he  and  his  followers  have  been 
proclaimed  as  traitors  to  their  king.  Ask  him  for  what 
reason  it  is  that  while  pursuing  the  common  enemies  of  the 
country — while  attacking  in  their  lairs  the  wolves  and  lions 
of  the  forest,  I,  myself,  am  mercilessly  assaulted  like  a  savage 
wild  beast,  by  those  whom  it  is  my  object  to  defend.  Tell 
him  that  I  require  him  to  retract  the  proclamation  he  has 
issued  without  loss  of  time,  and  in  the  event  of  his  re- 
fusal, I  am  ready  to  assert  and  defend  the  rights  of  freemen 
by  the  last  arbiter  between  man  and  man.  Lastly,  say  to 
him,  that  I  will  await  his  answer  until  two  days  from  this 
time,  and  should  it  still  prove  unfavourable  to  my  demands, 
then  woe  betide  him. " 

Charged  with  the  purport  of  his  mission,  Hansford  shook 
Bacon  cordially  by  the  hand,  and  proceeded  to  prepare  for 
his  journey.  As  he  was  going  to  inform  his  comrade,  old 
Lawrence  gently  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder,  and  whis- 
pered, "  Look  ye,  Tom,  I  like  not  the  appearance  of  that 
fellow  Berkenhead." 

"  He  is  faithful,  I  believe,"  said  Hansford,  in  the  same 
tone;  "a  little  rough  and  free  spoken,  perhaps,  but  I  do 
not  doubt  his  fidelity." 


188  HANSFORD: 

"  I  would  I  were  of  the  same  mind,"  returned  his  com- 
panion ;  "  but  if  ever  the  devil  set  his  mark  upon  a  man's 
face  that  he  might  know  him  on  the  resurrection  morning, 
he  did  so  on  that  crop-eared  Puritan.  Tell  me,  aint  he 
the  same  fellow  that  got  his  freedom  and  two  hundred 
pounds  for  revealing  the  insurrection  of  sixty-two  ?" 

"  The  same,  I  believe,"  said  Hansford,  carelessly;  "but 
what  of  that  ?" 

"  Why  simply  this,"  said  the  honest  old  cavalier,  "  that 
faith  is  like  a  walking-cane.  Break  it  once  and  you  may 
glue  it  so  that  the  fracture  can  scarcely  be  seen  by  the 
naked  eye ;  but  it  will  break  in  the  same  place  if  there  be 
a  strain  upon  it." 

"  I  hope  you  are  mistaken,"  said  Hansford;  "but  I  thank 
you  for  your  warning,  and  will  not  disregard  it.  I  will  be 
on  my  guard." 

"  Here,  Lawrence,"  cried  Bacon,  "what  private  message 
are  you  sending  to  the  Governor,  that  you  must  needs  be 
delaying  our  ambassador  ?  We  have  a  sad  duty  to  perform. 
These  brave  men,  who  have  fallen  in  our  cause,  must  not 
be  suffered  to  lie  a  prey  to  vultures.  Let  them  be  buried 
as  becomes  brave  soldiers,  who  have  died  right  bravely  with 
their  harness  on.  I  would  there  were  some  one  here  who 
could  perform  the  rites  of  burial — but  their  requiem  shall 
be  sung  with  our  song  of  triumph.  Peace  to  their  souls  ! 
Comrades,  prepare  their  grave,  and  pay  due  honour  to  their 
memory  by  discharging  a  volley  of  musketry  over  them. 
I  wot  they  well  loved  the  sound  while  living — nor  will  they 
sleep  less  sweetly  for  it  now. " 

By  such  language,  and  such  real  or  affected  interest  in 
the  fate  of  those  who  followed  his  career,  Nathaniel  Bacon 
won  the  affection  of  his  soldiery.  Never  was  there  a  leader, 
even  in  the  larger  theatres  of  action,  more  sincerely  beloved 
and  worshipped — and  to  this  may  be  attributed  in  a  great 
degree  the  wonderful  power  which  he  possessed  over  the 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          189 

minds  of  his  followers — moulding  their  opinions  in  strict 
conformity  with  his  own ;  breathing  into  them  something 
of  the  ardent  heroism  which  inspired  his  own  soul,  and 
making  them  thus  the  willing  and  subservient  instruments 
of  his  own  ambitious  designs. 

With  sad  countenances  the  soldiers  proceeded  to  obey  the 
order  of  their  general.  Scooping  with  their  swords  and 
bayonets  a  shallow  grave  in  the  soft  virgin  soil  of  the  forest, 
they  committed  the  bodies  of  their  comrades  to  the  ground, 
earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust — and  as  they 
screened  their  ashes  forever  from  the  light  of  day,  the 
"aisles  of  the  dim  woods"  echoed  back  the  loud  roar  of 
the  unheard,  unheeded  honour  which  they  paid  to  the 
memory  of  the  dead. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

"  But  the  poor  dog,  in  life  the  dearest  friend, 
The  first  to  welcome,  foremost  to  defend, 
Whose  honest  heart  is  still  his  master's  own  ; 
Who  labours,  fights,  lives,  breathes  for  him  alone, 
Unhonoured  falls,  unnoticed  all  his  worth, 
Denied  in  heaven  the  soul  he  had  on  earth." 

Byron. 

WHEN  the  last  sad  rites  of  burial  had  been  performed 
over  the  grave  of  those  who  had  fallen,  Hansford,  accom- 
panied by  Berkenhead  and  old  Giles,  proceeded  to  the 
discharge  of  the  trust  which  had  been  reposed  in  him.  It 
was  indeed  a  mission  fraught  with  the  most  important 
consequences  to  the  cause  of  the  insurgents,  to  the  family  at 


190  HANSFORD: 

Windsor  Hall,  and  to  himself  personally.  It  required  both 
a  cool  head  and  a  brave  heart  to  succeed  in  its  execution. 
Hansford  well  knew  that  the  first  burst  of  rage  from  the 
old  Governor,  on  hearing  the  bold  proposition  of  the  rebels, 
would  be  dangerous,  if  not  fatal  to  himself;  and  with  all 
the  native  boldness  of  his  character,  it  would  be  unnatural 
if  he  failed  to  feel  the  greatest  anxiety  for  the  result.  But 
even  if  he  escaped  the  vengeance  of  Berkeley,  he  feared  the 
impulsive  nature  of  Bacon,  in  the  event  of  the  refusal  of 
Sir  William  to  comply  with  his  demands,  would  drive  him 
into  excesses  ruinous  to  his  cause,  and  dangerous  alike  to 
the  innocent  and  the  guilty.  If  Temple's  obstinacy  and 
chivalry  persisted  in  giving  refuge  to  the  Governor,  what, 
he  thought,  might  be  the  consequences  to  her,  whose  inte- 
rest and  whose  safety  he  held  so  deeply  at  heart !  Thus 
the  statesman,  the  lover,  and  the  individual,  each  had  a 
peculiar  interest  in  the  result,  and  Hansford  felt  like  a  wise 
man  the  heavy  responsibility  he  had  incurred,  although  he 
resolved  to  encounter  and  discharge  it  like  a  bold  one. 

It  was  thus,  with  a  heavy  heart  that  he  proceeded  on  his 
way,  and  buried  in  these  reflections  he  maintained  a  moody 
silence,  little  regarding  the  presence  of  his  two  companions. 
Old  Giles,  too,  had  his  own  food  for  reflection,  and  vouch- 
safed only  monosyllables  in  reply  to  the  questions  and 
observations  of  the  loquacious  Berkenhead.  But  the  sol- 
dier was  not  to  be  repulsed  by  the  indifference  of  the  one, 
or  the  laconic  answers  of  the  other  of  his  companions. 
Finding  it  impossible  to  engage  in  conversation,  he  con- 
tented himself  with  soliloquy,  and  in  a  low,  muttering 
voice,  as  if  to  himself,  but  intended  as  well  for  the  ears  of 
his  commander,  he  began  an  elaborate  comparison  of  the 
army  of  Cromwell,  in  which  he  had  served,  and  the  army 
of  the  Virginia  insurgents. 

"  To  be  sure,  they  both  fought  for  liberty,  but  after  that 
there  is  monstrous  little  likeness  between  'em.  Old  Noll  was 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.         191 

always  acting  himself,  and  laying  it  all  to  Providence  when 
he  was  done ;  while  General  Bacon,  cavorting  round,  first 
after  the  Indians  and  then  after  the  Governor,  seems  hardly 
to  know  what  he  is  about,  and  yet,  I  believe,  trusts  in 
Providence  at  last  more  than  Noll,  with  all  his  religion  ; 
and,  faith,  it  seems  to  me  it  took  more  religion  to  do  him 
than  most  any  man  I  ever  see.  First  psalm  singing,  and 
then  fighting,  and  then  psalm  singing  agen,  and  then  more 
fighting — for  all  the  world  like  a  brick  house  with  mortar 
stuck  between.  But  I  trow  that  it  was  the  fighting  that 
made  the  house  stand,  after  all.  And  yet  I  believe,  for  all 
the  saints  used  to  nickname  me  a  sinner,  and  call  me  one 
of  the  spawn  of  the  beast,  because  I  would  get  tired  of  the 
Word  sometimes — and,  by  the  same  token,  old  brother 
Purge-the-temple  Whithead  had  a  whole  dictionary  of 
words,  much  less  the  one — yet,  for  all  come  and  gone,  I 
believe  I  would  rather  hear  a  long  psalm,  than  to  be 
doomed  to  solitary  confinement  to  my  own  thoughts,  as  I 
am  here." 

"  And  so  you  have  served  in  old  NolPs  army,  as  you  call 
it,"  said  Hansford,  smiling  in  spite  of  himself,  and  willing 
to  indulge  the  old  Oliverian  with  some  little  notice. 

"  Oh,  yes,  Major,"  replied  Berkenhead,  delighted  to  have 
gained  an  auditor  at  last ;  "  and  a  rare  service  it  was  too. 
A  little  too  much  of  what  they  called  the  church  militant, 
and  the  like,  for  me  ;  but  for  all  that  the  fellows  fought  like 
devils,  if  they  did  live  like  saints — and,  what  was  rare  to 
me,  they  did  not  deal  the  less  lightly  with  their  swords  for 
the  fervour  of  their  prayers,  nor  pray  the  less  fervently  for 
their  enemies  after  they  had  raked  them  with  their  fire,  or 
hacked  them  to  pieces  with  their  swords.  'Faith,  an  if 
there  had  been  many  more  battles  like  Dunbar  and  Wor- 
cester, they  had  as  well  have  blotted  that  text  from  their 
Bible,  for  precious  few  enemies  did  they  have  to  pray  for 
after  that." 


192  HANSPORD: 

"  You  did  not  agree  with  these  zealots  in  religion,  then," 
said  Hansford.  "  Prythee,  friend,  of  what  sect  of  Chris- 
tians are  you  a  member  ?" 

"  Well,  Major,  to  speak  the  truth  and  shame  the  devil,  as 
they  say,  my  religion  has  pretty  much  gone  with  my  sword. 
As  a  soldier  must  change  his  coat  whenever  he  changes  his 
service,  so  I  have  thought  he  should  make  his  faith — the 
robe  of  his  righteousness,  as  they  call  it — adapt  itself  to 
that  of  his  employer. " 

"  The  cloak  of  his  hypocrisy,  you  mean,"  said  Hansford, 
indignantly.  "  I  like  not  this  scoffing  profanity,  and  must 
hear  no  more  of  it.  He  who  is  not  true  to  his  God  is  of  a 
bad  material  for  a  patriot.  But  tell  me,"  he  added,  seeing 
that  the  man  seemed  sufficiently  rebuked,  "  how  came  you 
to  this  colony  ?" 

"  Simply  because  I  could  not  stay  in  England,"  replied 
Berkenhead.  "  Mine  has  been  a  hard  lot,  Major ;  for  I 
never  got  what  I  wanted  in  this  life.  If  I  was  predestined 
for  anything,  as  old  Purge-the-temple  used  to  say  we  all 
were,  it  seems  to  me  it  was  to  be  always  on  the  losing  side. 
When  I  fought  for  freedom  in  England,  I  gained  bondage 
in  Virginia  for  my  pains ;  and  when  I  refused  to  seek  my 
freedom,  and  betrayed  my  comrades  in  the  insurrection  of 
sixty-two,  lo,  and  behold !  I  was  released  from  bondage  for 
my  reward.  What  I  will  gain  or  lose  by  this  present  move- 
ment, I  don't  know ;  but  I  have  been  an  unlucky  adven- 
turer thus  far. " 

"I  have  heard  of  your  behaviour  in  sixty-two,"  said 
Hansford,  "  but  whether  such  conduct  be  laudable  or  cen- 
surable, depends  very  much  upon  the  motive  that  prompted 
you  to  it.  You  came  to  this  country  then  as  an  indented 
servant  ?" 

"  Yes,  sold,  your  honour,  for  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver, 
like  Joseph  was  sold  into  Egypt  by  his  brethren." 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          193 

"  I  suspect  that  the  resemblance  between  yourself  and 
that  eminent  patriarch  ceased  with  the  sale." 

"It  is  not  for  me  to  say,  your  honour.  But  in  the 
present  unsettled  state  of  affairs,  who  knows  who  may  be 
made  second  only  to  Pharaoh  over  all  Egypt  ?  I  wot  well 
who  will  be  our  Pharaoh,  if  we  gain  our  point ;  and  I  have 
done  the  state  some  service,  and  may  yet  do  her  more." 

"  By  treachery  to  your  comrades,  I  suppose,"  said  Hans- 
ford,  disgusted  with  the  conceit  and  self-complacency  of  the 
man. 

"  Now,  look  ye  here,  Major,  if  I  was  disposed  to  be 
touchy,  I  might  take  exception  at  that  remark.  But  I  have 
seen  too  much  of  life  to  fly  off  at  the  first  word.  The  axe 
that  flies  from  the  helve  at  the  first  stroke,  may  be  sharp  as 
a  grindstone  can  make  it,  but  it  will  never  cut  a  tree  down 
for  all  that." 

"  And  if  you  were  to  fly  off,  as  you  call  it,  at  the  first  or 
the  last  word,"  said  Hansford,  haughtily,  "you  would  only 
get  a  sound  beating  for  your  pains.  How  dare  you  speak 
thus  to  your  superior,  you  insolent  knave  !" 

"  No  insolence,  Major,"  said  Berkenhead,  sulkily ;  "  but 
for  the  matter  of  speaking  against  your  honour,  I  have  seen 
my  betters  silenced  in  their  turn,  by  their  superiors." 

"  Silence,  slave  !"  cried  Hansford,  his  face  flushing  with 
indignation  at  this  allusion  to  his  interview  with  Bacon, 
which  he  had  hoped,  till  now,  had  been  unheard  by  the 
soldiers.  "  But  come,"  he  added,  reflecting  on  the  impru- 
dence of  losing  his  only  friend  and  ally  in  this  perilous 
adventure,  "  you  are  a  saucy  knave,  but  I  suppose  I  must 
e'en  bear  with  you  for  the  present.  We  cannot  be  far  from 
Windsor  Hall,  I  should  think." 

"  About  two  miles,  as  I  take  it,  Major,"  said  Berken- 
head, in  a  more  respectful  manner.  "  I  used  to  live  in 
Gloucester,  not  far  from  the  hall,  and  many  is  the  time  I 
have  followed  my  master  through  these  old  woods  in  a  deer 

It 


194  HANSFORD: 

chase.  Yes,  there  is  Manteo's  clearing,  just  two  miles  from 
the  hall." 

Scarcely  were  the  words  out  of  the  speaker's  mouth, 
when,  to  the  surprise  of  the  little  party,  a  large  dog  of  the 
St.  Bernard's  breed  leaped  from  a  thicket  near  them,  and 
bounded  towards  Hansford. 

"  Brest  ef  it  a'ant  old  Nestor,"  said  Giles,  whose  tongue 
had  at  length  been  loosened  by  the  sight  of  the  family 
favourite,  and  he  stooped  down  as  he  spoke  to  pat  the  dog 
upon  the  head.  But  Nestor's  object  was  clearly  not  to  be 
caressed.  Frisking  about  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner, 
now  wagging  his  tail,  now  holding  it  between  his  legs,  now 
bounding  a  few  steps  in  front  of  Hansford's  horse,  and 
anon  crouching  by  his  side  and  whining  most  piteously,  he 
at  length  completed  his  eccentric  movements  by  standing 
erect  upon  his  hind  legs  and  placing  his  fore  feet  against 
the  breast  of  his  old  master.  Struck  with  this  singular 
conduct,  Hansford,  reining  in  his  horse,  cried  out,  "  The 
poor  dog  must  be  mad.  Down,  Nestor,  down  I  tell  you !" 

Well  was  it  for  our  hero  that  the  faithful  animal  refused 
to  obey,  for  just  at  that  moment  an  arrow  was  heard  whiz- 
zing through  the  air,  and  the  noble  dog  fell  transfixed 
through  the  neck  with  the  poisoned  missile,  which  else  had 
pierced  Hansford's  heart.*  The  alarm  caused  by  so  sud- 
den and  unexpected  an  attack  had  not  passed  off,  before 
another  arrow  was  buried  deep  in  our  hero's  shoulder. 
But  quick  as  were  the  movements  of  the  attacking  party, 
the  trained  eye  of  Berkenhead  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
tall  form  of  an  Indian  as  it  vanished  behind  a  large  oak 
tree,  about  twenty  yards  from  where  they  stood.  The  sol- 
dier levelled  his  carbine,  and  as  Manteo  (for  the  reader  has 
probably  already  conjectured  that  it  was  he)  again  emerged 
from  his  hiding  place  to  renew  the  attack,  he  discharged 

*  An  incident  somewhat  similar  to  this  is  on  record  as  having  actually 
occurred. 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          195 

his  piece  with  deadly  aim  and  effect.  With  a  wild  yell  of 
horror,  the  young  warrior  sprang  high  in  the  air,  and  fell 
lifeless  to  the  ground, 

Berkenhead  was  about  to  rush  forward  towards  his  vic- 
tim, when  Hansford,  who  still  retained  his  seat  on  the 
horse,  though  faint  from  pain  and  loss  of  blood,  cried  out, 
"  Caution,  caution,  for  God's  sake,  there  are  more  of  the 
bloody  villains  about."  But  after  a  few  moments'  pause, 
the  apprehension  of  a  further  attack  passed  away,  and  the 
soldier  and  Giles  repaired  to  the  spot.  And  there  in  the 
cold  embrace  of  death,  lay  the  brave  young  Indian,  his 
painted  visage  reddened  yet  more  by  the  life-blood  which 
still  flowed  from  his  wound.  His  right  hand  still  grasped 
the  bow-string,  as  in  his  last  effort  to  discharge  the  fatal 
arrow.  A  haughty  smile  curled  his  lip  even  in  the  moment 
in  which  the  soul  had  fled,  as  if  in  that  last  struggle  his 
brave  young  heart  despised  the  pang  of  death  itself. 

Gazing  at  him  for  a  moment,  yet  long  enough  for  old 
Giles  to  recognize  the  features  of  Manteo  in  the  bloody 
corpse,  they  returned  to  Hansford,  whose  condition  indeed 
required  their  immediate  assistance.  Drawing  out  the 
arrow,  and  staunching  the  blood  as  well  as  they  could 
with  his  scarf,  Berkeuhead  bandaged  it  tightly,  and 
although  still  in  great  pain,  the  wounded  man  was  en- 
abled slowly  to  continue  his  journey.  A  ride  of  about 
half  an  hour  brought  the  little  party  to  the  door  of  Wind- 
sor Hall. 


19.6  HANSFORD: 


CHAPTER  XXYII. 

"  111  tell  thee  truth— 
Too  oft  a  stranger  to  the  royal  ear, 
But  far  more  wholesome  than  the  honeyed  lies 
That  fawning  flatterers  offer." 

Any  Port  in  a  Storm. 

BRIEF  as  was  the  time  which  had  elapsed,  the  old  hall 
presented  a  different  appearance  to  Hansford,  from  that 
which  it  maintained  when  he  last  left  it  under  such  disheart- 
ening circumstances.  The  notable  mistress  of  the  mansion 
had  spared  no  pains  to  prepare  for  the  reception  of  her 
honoured  guest ;  and,  although  she  took  occasion  to  com- 
plain to  her  good  husband  of  his  inconsiderate  conduct,  in 
foisting  all  these  strangers  upon  her  at  once,  yet  she  in- 
wardly rejoiced  at  the  opportunity  it  presented  for  a  display 
of  her  admirable  housewifery.  Indeed,  the  ease-loving  old 
Colonel  almost  repented  of  his  hospitality,  amid  the  bustle 
and  hurry,  the  scolding  of  servants,  and  the  general  bad 
humour  which  were  all  necessary  incidents  to  the  good  dame's 
preparation.  Having  finally  "  brought  things  to  something 
like  rights,"  as  she  expressed  it,  her  next  care  was  to  pro- 
vide for  the  entertainment  of  her  distinguished  guest,  which 
to  the  mind  of  the  benevolent  old  lady,  consisted  not  in 
sparkling  conversation,  or  sage  counsels,  (then,  alas  !  much 
needed  by  the  Governor,)  but  in  spreading  a  table  loaded 
with  a  superabundance  of  delicacies  to  tempt  his  palate,  and 
cause  him  to  forget  his  troubles.  It  was  a  favourite  saying 
of  hers,  caught  up  most  probably  in  her  early  life,  during 
the  civil  war  in  England,  that  if  the  stomach  was  well  gar- 
risoned with  food,  the  heart  would  never  capitulate  to 
sorrow. 


A,  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          197 

But  the  truth  of  this  apothegm  was  not  sustained  in  the 
present  instance.  Her  hospitable  efforts,  even  when  united 
with  the  genial  good  humour  and  kindness  of  her  husband 
were  utterly  unavailing  to  dispel  the  gloom  which  hung 
over  the  inmates  of  Windsor  Hall.  Sir  William  Berkeley 
was  himself  dejected  and  sad,  and  communicated  his  own 
dejection  to  all  around  him.  Indeed,  since  his  arrival  at 
the  Hall,  he  had  found  good  reason  to  repent  his  haste  in 
denouncing  the  popular  and  gifted  young  insurgent.  The 
pledge  made  by  Colonel  Temple  of  the  loyalty  of  the  people 
of  Gloucester,  had  not  been  redeemed — at  least  so  far  as 
an  active  support  of  the  Governor  was  concerned.  Berke- 
ley's reception  by  them  was  cold  and  unpromising.  The 
enthusiasm  which  he  had  hoped  to  inspire  no  where  pre- 
vailed, and  the  old  man  felt  himself  deserted  by  those  whose 
zealous  co-operation  he  had  been  led  to  anticipate.  It  was 
true  that  they  asserted  in  the  strongest  terms  their  profes- 
sions of  loyal  devotion,  and  their  willingness  to  quell  the 
first  symptoms  of  rebellion,  but  they  failed  to  see  anything 
in  the  conduct  of  Bacon  to  justify  the  harsh  measures  of 
Berkeley  towards  him  and  his  followers.  "  Lip-service — 
lip-service,"  said  the  old  Governor,  sorrowfully,  as  their 
decision  was  communicated  to  him,  "  they  draw  near  to  me 
with  their  mouth,  and  honour  me  with  their  lips,  but  their 
heart  is  far  from  me."  But,  notwithstanding  his  disap- 
pointment, nothing  could  shake  the  proud  spirit  of  Berkeley 
in  his  inflexible  resolution,  to  resist  any  encroachments  on 
his  prerogative ;  and,  so  providing  his  few  followers  with 
arms  from  the  adjacent  fort  on  York  River,  he  prepared  to 
maintain  his  power  and  his  dignity  by  the  sword. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  on  the  evening  that  Thomas 
Hansford  and  his  companions  arrived  at  Windsor  Hall. 
The  intelligence  of  their  arrival  created  much  excite- 
ment, and  the  inmates  of  the  mansion  differed  greatly 
in  their  opinions  as  to  the  intention  of  the  young  rebel. 


198  HANSFORD: 

Poor  Mrs.  Temple,  in  whose  mind  fear  always  predomi- 
nated over  every  other  feeling,  felt  assured  that  Hansford 
had  come,  attended  by  another  "  ruffian,"  forcibly  to  abduct 
Virginia  from  her  home — and  a  violent  fit  of  hysterics  was 
the  result  of  her  suspicions.  Virginia  herself,  vacillating 
between  hope  and  fear,  trusted,  in  the  simplicity  of  her 
young,  girlish  heart,  that  her  lover  had  repented  of  his 
grievous  error,  and  had  come  to  claim  her  love,  and  to  sue 
to  the  Governor  for  pardon.  Sir  William  Berkeley  saw  in 
the  mission  of  Hansford,  a  faint  hope  that  the  rebels,  alarmed 
by  his  late  proclamation,  had  determined  to  return  to  their 
allegiance,  and  that  Hansford  was  the  bearer  of  a  proposi- 
tion to  this  effect,  imploring  at  the  same  time  the  clemency 
and  pardon  of  the  government,  against  which  they  had  so 
grievously  offended. 

"And  they  shall  receive  mercy,  too,  at  my  hands,"  said 
the  old  knight,  as  a  tear  glistened  in  his  eye.  "  They  have 
learned  to  fear  the  power  of  the  government,  and  to  respect 
its  justice,  and  they  shall  now  learn  to  love  its  merciful 
clemency.  God  forbid,  that  I  should  chasten  my  repenting 
people,  except  as  children,  for  their  good." 

"  Not  so  fast,  my  honoured  Governor,"  said  Philip 
Ludwell,  who,  with  the  other  attendants  of  Berkeley,  had 
gathered  around  him  in  the  porch ;  "you  may  be  mistaken 
in  your  opinion.  I  believe — I  know — that  your  wish  is 
father  to  the  thought  in  this  matter.  But  look  at  the 
resolution  and  determined  bearing  of  that  young  man. 
Is  his  the  face  or  the  bearing  of  a  suppliant?" 

Ludwell  was  right.  The  noble  countenance  of  Hansford, 
always  expressive,  though  sufficiently  respectful  to  the  pre- 
sence which  he  was  about  to  enter,  indicated  any  thing 
rather  than  tame  submission.  His  face  was  very  pale,  and 
his  lip  quivered  for  a  moment  as  he  approached  the  anxious 
crowd  of  loyalists,  who  remained  standing  in  the  porch,  but 
it  was  at  once  firmly  compressed  by  the  strength  of  resolu- 


A  TALE  OF  BACONS  REBELLION.          199 

tion.  As  he  advanced,  he  raised  his  hat  and  profoundly 
saluted  the  Governor,  and  then  drawing  himself  up  to  his 
full  height,  he  stood  silently  awaiting  some  one  to  speak. 
Colonel  Temple  halted  a  moment  between  his  natural  kind- 
ness for  his  friend  and  his  respect  for  the  presence  of  Sir 
William  Berkeley.  The  first  feeling  prompted  him  to  rush 
up  to  Hansford,  and  greeting  him  as  of  old,  to  give  him  a 
cordial  welcome  to  the  hall — but  the  latter  feeling  pre- 
vailed. Without  advancing,  then,  he  said  in  a  tone,  in 
which  assumed  displeasure  strove  in  vain  to  overcome  his 
native  benevolence — 

"  To  what  cause  am  I  to  attribute  this  unexpected  visit 
of  Mr.  Hansford  ?» 

"  My  business  is  with  Sir  William  Berkeley,"  replied 
Hansford,  respectfully,  "  and  I  presume  I  am  not  mistaken 
in  supposing  that  I  am  now  in  his  presence." 

"And  what  would  you  have  from  me  young  man,"  said 
Berkeley,  coldly ;  "  your  late  career  has  estranged  you  and 
some  of  your  friends  so  entirely  from  their  Governor,  that 
I  feel  much  honoured  by  this  evidence  of  your  returning 
affection." 

"  Both  I  and  my  friends,  as  far  as  I  may  speak  for  them," 
returned  Hansford,  in  the  same  calm  tone,  "  have  ever  been 
ready  and  anxious  to  show  our  devotion  to  our  country 
and  its  rulers,  and  our  present  career  to  which  your  excel- 
lency has  been  pleased  to  allude,  is  in  confirmation  of  the 
fact.  That  we  have  unwittingly  fallen  under  your  dis- 
pleasure, sir,  I  am  painfully  aware.  To  ascertain  the  cause 
of  that  displeasure  is  my  reason  for  this  intrusion." 

"  The  cause,  young  man,"  said  Berkeley,  "  is  to  be  found 
in  your  own  conduct,  for  which,  may  I  hope,  you  have  come 
for  pardon  ?" 

"  I  regret  to  say  that  you  are  mistaken  in  your  conjec- 
ture," replied  Hansford.  "  As  it  is  impossible  that  our 
conduct  could  have  invoked  your  displeasure,  so  it  is 


200  HANSFORD I 

equally  impossible  that  we  should  sue  for  pardon  for  an 
offence  which  we  have  never  committed." 

"And,  prythee,  what  then  is  your  worshipful  pleasure, 
fair  sir,"  said  Berkeley,  ironically;  "perhaps,  in  the  abun- 
dance of  your  mercy,  you  have  come  to  grant  pardon,  if 
you  do  not  desire  it.  Nay  1"  he  exclaimed,  seeing  Hans- 
ford  shake  his  head ;  "  then,  peradventure,  you  would  ask 
me  to  abdicate  my  government  in  favour  of  young  Crom- 
well. I  beg  pardon — young  Bacon,  I  should  say — the 
similarity  of  their  views  is  so  striking,  that  as  my  memory 
is  but  a  poor  one,  I  sometimes  confound  their  names. 
Well  1  any  thing  in  reason.  Nay,  again ! — well  then,  I 
am  at  a  loss  to  conjecture,  and  you  must  yourself  explain 
the  object  of  your  visit." 

"  I  would  fain  convey  my  instructions  to  Sir  William 
Berkeley's  private  ear,"  said  Hansford,  unmoved  by  the 
irony  of  the  old  knight. 

"Oh  pardon  me,  fair  sir,"  said  Berkeley;  "yet,  in  this 
I  must  crave  your  pardon,  indeed.  A  sovereign  would 
never  wittingly  trust  himself  alone  with  a  rebel,  and  neither 
will  I,  though  only  an  obscure  colonial  Governor.  There 
are  none  but  loyal  ears  here,  and  I  trust  Mr.  Hansford  has 
no  tidings  which  can  offend  them." 

"I  am  sure,"  said  Hansford,  in  reply,  "that  Sir  William 
Berkeley  does  not  for  a  moment  suspect  that  I  desired  to 
see  him  in  private  from  any  sinister  or  treasonable  motive." 

"I  know,  sir,"  said  Berkeley,  angrily,  "that  you  have 
proved  yourself  a  traitor,  and,  therefore,  I  have  the  best 
reason  for  suspecting  you  of  treasonable  designs.  But  I 
have  no  time — no  disposition  to  dally  with  you  thus.  Tell 
me,  what  new  treason,  that  my  old  ears  are  yet  strangers  to, 
I  am  yet  doomed  to  hear  ?" 

"  My  instructions  are  soon  told,"  said  Hansford,  repress- 
ing his  indignation.  "  General  Nathaniel  Bacon,  by  virtue 
of  your  own  commission,  Commander-in-chief  of  the  forces 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          201 

of  Virginia,  desires  to  know,  and  has  directed  me  to  in- 
quire, for  what  cause  you  have  issued  a  proclamation 
declaring  both  him  and  his  followers  traitors  to  their 
country  and  king  ?" 

Berkeley  stood  the  shock  much  better  than  Hansford 
expected.  His  face  flushed  for  a  mo«aent,  but  only  for  a 
moment,  as  he  replied, — 

"  This  is  certainly  an  unusual  demand  of  a  rebel ;  but 
sir,  as  I  have  nothing  to  fear  from  an  exposure  of  my  rea- 
sons, I  will  reply,  that  Nathaniel  Bacon  is  now  in  arms 
against  the  government  of  Virginia." 

"  Not  unless  the  government  of  Virginia  be  allied  with 
the  Indians,  against  whom  he  is  marching,"  said  Hansford, 
calmly. 

"Aye,  but  it  is  well  known,"  returned  Berkeley, "  that  he 
has  covert  views  of  his  own  to  attain,  under  pretext  of  this 
expedition  against  the  Indians." 

"  Why,  then,"  replied  Hansford,  "if  they  are  covert  from 
his  own  followers,  proclaim  them  traitors  with  himself;  or, 
if  covert  from  the  government,  how  can  you  ascertain  that 
they  are  treasonable  ?  But,  above  all,  if  you  suspected 
such  traitorous  designs,  why,  by  your  commission,  elevate 
him  to  a  position  in  which  he  may  be  able  to  execute  them 
with  success  ?" 

"  Tore  God,  gentlemen,  this  is  the  most  barefaced  inso- 
lence that  I  have  ever  heard.  For  yourself,  young  man, 
out  of  your  own  mouth  will  I  judge  you,  and  convict  you 
of  treason  ;  and  for  your  preceptor — whose  lessons,  I  doubt 
not,  you  repeat  by  rote — you  may  tell  him  that  his  com- 
mission is  null  and  void,  because  obtained  by  force  and 
arms." 

"  I  had  not  expected  to  hear  Sir  William  Berkeley  make 
such  an  acknowledgment,"  returned  Hansford,  undauntedly. 
"  You  yourself  declared  that  the  commission  was  not  given 
from  fear  of  threats;  and  even  if  this  were  not  so,  the 


202  HANSFORD : 

argument  would  scarce  avail — for  on  what  compulsion  was 
it  that  your  signature  appears  in  a  letter  to  his  majesty, 
warmly  approving  the  conduct  of  General  Bacon,  and  com- 
mending him  for  his  zeal,  talents  and  patriotism  ?"  * 

"  Now,  by  my  knighthood,"  said  Berkeley,  stung  by  this 
last  unanswerable  argument,  "  I  will  not  be  bearded  thus  by 
an  insolent,  braggart  boy.  Seize  him  1"  he  cried,  turning 
to  Bernard  and  Ludwell,  who  stood  nearest  him.  "  He  is 
iny  prisoner,  and  as  an  example  to  his  vile  confederates,  he 
shall  hang  in  half  an  hour,  until  his  traitorous  tongue  has 
stopped  its  vile  wagging." 

Hansford  made  no  attempt  to  escape,  but,  as  the  two 
men  approached  to  disarm  and  bind  him,  he  fixed  his  fine 
blue  eyes  full  upon  Colonel  Temple,  and  said,  mildly, 

"  Shall  this  be  so  ?  Though  Sir  William  Berkeley  should 
fail  to  respect  my  position,  as  the  bearer  of  a  peaceable 
message  from  General  Bacon,  I  trust  that  the  rites  of  hos- 
pitality may  not  be  violated,  even  in  my  humble  person." 

Colonel  Temple  was  much  embarrassed.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  recent  conduct  of  Hansford  had  alienated  him  to  a 
great  degree,  he  still  entertained  a  strong  affection  for  his 
boy — nor  could  he  willingly  see  him  suffer  a  wrong  when 
he  had  thus  so  confidingly  trusted  to  his  generosity.  But, 
apart  from  his  special  interest  in  Hansford,  the  old  Yir- 
ginian  had  a  religious  regard  for  the  sacred  character  of  a 
guest,  which  he  could  never  forget.  And  yet,  his  blind 
reverence  for  authority — the  bigoted  loyalty  which  has 
always  made  the  English  people  so  cautious  in  resistance  to 
oppression,  and  which  retarded  indeed  our  own  colonial 
revolution — made  him  unwilling  to  oppose  his  character  of 
host  to  the  authority  of  the  Governor.  He  looked  first  at 
Sir  William  Berkeley,  and  his  resolution  was  made ;  he 

*  This  was  indeed  true,  and  renders  the  conduct  of  Berkeley  entirely 
inexplicable. 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          203 

turned  to  Hansford,  and  as  he  saw  his  noble  boy  standing 
resolutely  there,  without  a  friend  to  aid  him,  it  wavered. 
The  poor  old  gentleman  was  sadly  perplexed,  but,  after  a 
brief  struggle,  his  true,  generous  heart  conquered,  and  he 
said,  turning  to  Sir  William  : 

11  My  honoured  sir,  I  trust  you  will  not  let  this  matter 
proceed  any  further  here.  My  house,  my  life,  my  all,  is  at 
the  service  of  the  king  and  of  his  representative  ;  but  I 
question  how  far  we  are  warranted  in  proceeding  to 
extremities  with  this  youth,  seeing  that  although  he  is 
rather  froward  and  pert  in  his  manners,  he  may  yet  mean 
well  after  all." 

"  Experience  should  have  taught  me,"  replied  Berkeley, 
coldly,  for  his  evil  genius  was  now  thoroughly  aroused, 
"  not  to  place  too  much  confidence  in  the  loyalty  of  the 
people  of  Gloucester.  If  Colonel  Temple's  resolution  to 
aid  the  crumbling  power  of  the  government  has  wavered  at 
the  sight  of  a  malapert  and  rebellious  boy,  I  had  better 
relieve  him  of  my  presence,  which  must  needs  have  become 
irksome  to  him." 

"  Nay,  Sir  William,"  returned  Temple,  reddening  at  the 
imputation,  "you  shall  not  take  my  language  thus.  Let 
the  youth  speak  for  himself;  if  he  breathes  a  word  of  trea- 
son, his  blood  be  on  his  own  head — my  hand  nor  voice 
shall  be  raised  to  save  him.  But  I  am  unable  to  construe 
any  thing  which  he  has  yet  said  as  treasonable."  Then 
turning  to  Hansford,  he  added,  "speak,  Mr.  Hansford, 
plainly  and  frankly.  What  was  your  object  in  thus  com- 
ing ?  Were  you  sent  by  General  Bacon,  or  did  you  come 
voluntarily  ?" 

"  Both,"  replied  Hansford,  with  a  full  appreciation  of 
the  old  man's  unfortunate  position.  "  It  was  my  proposi- 
tion that  some  officer  of  the  army  should  wait  upon  the 
Governor,  and  ascertain  the  truth  of  his  rumoured  procla- 
mation. I  volunteered  to  discharge  the  duty  in  person." 


204  HANSFORD: 

"And  in  the  event  of  your  finding  it  to  be  true,"  said 
Berkeley,  haughtily,  "  what  course  did  you  then  intend  to 
pursue  ?" 

This  was  a  dangerous  question ;  for  Hansford  knew  that 
to  express  the  design  of  the  insurgents  in  such  an  event, 
would  be  little  less  than  a  confession  of  treason.  But  he 
had  a  bold  heart,  and  without  hesitation,  but  still  maintain- 
ing his  respectful  manner,  he  replied, — 

"  I  might  evade  an  answer  to  your  question,  by  saying» 
that  it  would  then  be  time  enough  to  consider  and  deter- 
mine our  course.  But  I  scorn  to  do  so,  even  when  my 
safety  is  endangered.  I  answer  candidly  then,  that  in  such 
an  event  the  worst  consequences  to  the  country  and  to 
yourself  would  ensue.  It  was  to  prevent  these  conse- 
quences, and  as  far  as  I  could  to  intercede  in  restoring 
peace  and  quiet  to  our  distracted  colony,  that  I  came  to 
implore  you  to  withdraw  this  proclamation.  Otherwise, 
sir,  the  sword  of  the  avenger  is  behind  you,  and  within  two 
days  from  this  time  you  will  be  compelled  once  more  to 
yield  to  a  current  that  you  cannot  resist.  Comply  with 
my  request,  and  peace  and  harmony  will  once  more  pre- 
vail ;  refuse,  and  let  who  will  triumph,  the  unhappy  colony 
will  be  involved  in  all  the  horrors  of  civil  war." 

There  was  nothing  boastful  in  the  manner  of  Hansford, 
as  he  uttered  these  words.  On  the  contrary,  his  whole 
bearing,  while  it  showed  inflexible  determination,  attested 
his  sincerity  in  the  wish  that  the  Governor,  for  the  good  of 
the  country,  would  yield  to  the  suggestion.  Nor  did  Sir 
William  Berkeley,  in  spite  of  his  indignation,  fail  to  see  the 
force  and  wisdom  of  the  views  presented ;  but  he  had  too 
much  pride  to  acknowledge  it  to  an  inferior. 

"  Now,  by  my  troth,"  he  cried,  "if  this  be  not  treason,  I 
am  at  a  loss  to  define  the  term.  I  should  think  this  would 
satisfy  even  your  scepticism,  Colonel  Temple ;  for  it  seems 
we  must  consult  you  in  regard  to  our  course  while  under 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         205 

your  roof.  You  would  scarcely  consent,  I  trust,  to  a  self- 
convicted  traitor  going  at  large." 

"  Of  course  you  act  in  the  premises,  according  to  your 
own  judgment,"  replied  Temple,  coldly,  for  he  was  justly 
offended  at  the  overbearing  manner  of  the  incensed  old 
Governor,  "but  since  you  have  appealed  to  me  for  my 
opinion,  I  will  e'en  make  bold  to  say,  that  as  this  young 
man  came  in  the  character  of  an  intercessor,  you  might  well 
be  satisfied  with  his  parole.  I  will  myself  be  surety  for  his 
truth." 

"  Parole,  forsooth,  and  do  you  not  think  I  have  had 
enough  of  paroles  from  these  rebel  scoundrels — zounds, 
their  faith  is  like  an  egg-shell,  it  is  made  to  be  broken." 

"  With  my  sincere  thanks  to  my  noble  friend,"  said  Hans- 
ford,  "  for  his  obliging  offer,  I  would  not  accept  it  if  I  could. 
Unconscious  of  having  done  any  thing  to  warrant  this  de- 
tention, I  am  not  willing  to  acknowledge  its  justice,  by 
submitting  to  a  qualified  imprisonment." 

"It  is  well,"  said  Berkeley,  haughtily;  "  we  will  see 
whether  your  pride  is  proof  against  an  ignominious 
death.  Disarm  him  and  hold  him  in  close  custody  until 
my  farther  pleasure  shall  be  known." 

As  he  said  this,  Ilansford  was  disarmed,  and  led  away 
under  a  strong  guard  to  the  apartment  which  Colonel  Tem- 
ple reluctantly  designated  as  the  place  of  his  confinement. 

Meantime  Berkenhead  had  remained  at  the  gate,  guarded 
by  two  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Governor  ;  while  old  Giles, 
with  a  light  heart,  had  found  his  way  back  to  his  old  stand 
by  the  kitchen  door,  and  was  detailing  to  his  astonished 
cronies  the  unlucky  ventures,  and  the  providential  deliver- 
ance, which  he  had  experienced.  But  we  must  forbear 
entering  into  a  detailed  account  of  the  old  man's  sermon, 
merely  contenting  ourselves  with  announcing,  that  such 
was  the  effect  produced,  that  at  the  next  baptizing  day, 
old  Elder  Snivel  was  refreshed  by  a  perfect  pentecost  of 
18 


206  HANSFORD: 

converts,  who  attributed  their  "new  birf"  to  the  wrestling 
of  "brudder  Giles." 

We  return  to  Berkenhead,  who,  at  the  command  of  Col. 
Ludwell,  was  escorted,  under  the  guard  before  mentioned, 
into  the  presence  of  Sir  William  Berkeley.  The  dogged 
and  insolent  demeanour  of  the  man  was  even  more  dis- 
pleasing to  the  Governor  than  the  quiet  and  resolute  man- 
ner of  Hansford,  and  in  a  loud,  threatening  voice,  he  cried, 

"  Here  comes  another  hemp-pulling  knave.  'Fore  God, 
the  colony  will  have  to  give  up  the  cultivation  of  tobacco, 
and  engage  in  raising  hemp,  for  we  are  like  to  have  some 
demand  for  it.  Hark  ye,  sir  knave — do  you  know  the 
nature  of  the  message  which  you  have  aided  in  bearing  from 
the  traitor  Bacon  to  myself  ?" 

"  Not  I,  your  honour — no  more  than  my  carbine  knows 
whether  it  is  loaded  or  not.  It's  little  the  General  takes  ah 
old  soldier  like  me  into  his  counsels ;  but  I  only  know  it  is 
my  duty  to  obey,  if  I  were  sent  to  the  devil  with  a  message," 
and  the  villain  looked  archly  at  the  Governor. 

"  Your  language  is  something  of  the  most  insolent, "said 
Sir  William.  "  But  tell  rne  instantly,  did  you  have  no 
conversation  with  Major  Hansford  on  your  way  hither,  and 
if  so,  what  was  it  ?" 

"Little  else  than  abuse,  your  honour,"  returned  Ber- 
kenhead, "  and  a  threat  that  I  would  be  beat  over  the  head 
if  I  didn't  hold  my  tongue ;  and  as  I  didn't  care  to  con- 
verse at  such  a  disadvantage,  I  was  e'en  content  to  keep 
my  own  counsel  for  the  rest  of  the  way." 

"  Do  you,  or  do  you  not,  consider  Bacon  and  his  follow- 
ers to  be  engaged  in  rebellion  against  the  government  ?" 

"  Rebellion,  your  honour  1"  cried  the  renegade.  "  Why,  was 
it  not  your  honour's  self  that  sent  us  after  these  salvages  ? 
An'  I  thought  there  was  any  other  design  afloat,  I  would 
soon  show  them  who  was  the  rebel.  It  is  not  the  first  time 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         207 

that  I  have  done  the  State  some  service  by  betraying  trea- 
son." 

"  Look  ye,"  said  the  Governor,  eyeing  the  fellow  keenly, 
"  if  I  mistake  not,  you  are  an  old  acquaintance.  Is  your 
name  Berkenhead  ?" 

"  The  same,  at  your  honour's  service." 

"  And  didn't  you  betray  the  servile  plot  of  1662,  and 
get  your  liberty  and  a  reward  for  it  ?" 

"  Yes,  your  honour,  but  I  wouldn't  have  you  think  that 
it  was  for  the  reward  I  did  it  ?" 

"  Oh,  never  mind  your  motives.  If  you  are  Judas,  you 
are  welcome  to  your  thirty  pieces  of  silver,"  said  the  Gov- 
ernor, with  a  sneer  of  contempt.  "  But  to  make  the  analogy 
complete,  you  should  be  hanged  for  your  service." 

"  No,  faith,"  said  the  shrewd  villain,  quickly.  "  Judas 
hanged  himself,  and  it  would  be  long  ere  ever  I  sought  the 
apostle's  elder  tree.*  Arid  besides,  his  was  the  price  of 
innocent  blood,  and  mine  was  not.  Look  at  my  hand,  your 
honour,  and  you  will  see  what  kind  of  blood  I  shed." 

Berkeley  looked  at  the  fellow's  hand,  and  saw  it  stained 
with  the  crimson  life-blood  of  the  young  Indian.  With  a 
thrill  of  horror,  he  cried,  "  What  blood  is  that,  you  infernal 
villain  ?" 

"  Only  fresh  from  the  veins  of  one  of  these  painted  red- 
skins," returned  Berkenhead.  "And  red  enough  he  was 
when  I  left  him ;  but,  forsooth,  he  reckons  that  the  paint 
cost  him  full  dear.  He  left  his  mark  on  Major  Hansford, 
though,  before  he  left." 

"  Where  did  this  happen  ?"  said  Berkeley,  astonished. 

"  Oh,  not  far  from  here.  The  red  devil  was  a  friend  at 
the  hall  here,  too,  or  as  much  so  as  their  bloody  hearts  will 
let  any  of  them  be.  Colonel  Temple,  there,  knows  him, 
and  I  have  seen  him  when  I  lived  in  Gloucester.  A  fine 

*  The  name  given  to  the  tree  on  which  Judas  hanged  himself. 


208  HANSFORD: 

looking  fellow,  too  ;  and  if  his  skin  and  his  heart  had  been 
both  white,  there  would  have  been  few  better  and  braver 
dare-devils  than  young  Manteo." 

As  he  pronounced  the  name,  a  wild  shriek  rent  the  air, 
and  the  distracted  Mamalis  rushed  into  the  porch.  Her 
long  hair  was  all  dishevelled  and  flying  loosely  over  her 
shoulders,  her  eye  was  that  of  a  maniac  in  his  fury,  and 
tossing  her  bare  arms  aloft,  she  shrieked,  in  a  wild,  harsh 
voice, 

"And  who  are  you,  that  dare  to  spill  the  blood  of 
kings  ?  Look  to  it  that  your  own  flows  not  less  freely  in 
your  veins." 

Berkenhead  turned  pale  with  fright,  and  shrinking  from 
the  enraged  girl,  muttered,  "the  devil !" — while  Temple,  in 
a  low  voice,  whispered  to  the  Governor  the  necessary 
explanation,  "She  is  his  sister." 

"  Yes,  his  sister !"  cried  the  girl,  wildly,  for  she  had 
overheard  the  words.  "  His  only  sister  ! — and  my  blood 
now  flows  in  no  veins  but  my  own.  But  the  stream  runs 
more  fiercely  as  the  channel  is  more  narrow.  Look  to  it — 
look  to  it !"  And,  with  another  wild  shriek,  the  maddened 
girl  rushed  again  into  the  house.  It  required  all  the  tender 
care  of  Virginia  Temple  to  pacify  the  poor  creature.  She 
reasoned,  she  prayed,  she  endeavoured  to  console  her  ;  but 
her  reasons,  her  prayers,  her  sweet  words  of  consolation, 
were  all  lost  upon  the  heart  of  the  Indian  maiden,  who 
nourished  but  one  fearful,  fatal  idea — revenge  ! 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          209 


CHAPTER    XXYIII. 

"  His  flight  was  madness." 
Macbeth. 

YES,  Yirgiiaia  !  She  who  had  so  much  reason  for  con- 
solation herself,  forgot  her  own  sorrows  for  the  time,  in 
administering  the  oil  of  consolation  to  the  poor,  wounded, 
broken-hearted  savage  girl.  She  had  been  sitting  at  the 
window  of  the  little  parlour,  where  she  could  witness  the 
whole  scene,  and  hear  the  whole  interview  between  the 
Governor  and  Hansford  ;  and  oh  I  how  her  heart  had  sunk 
within  her  as  she  heard  the  harsh  sentence  of  the  stern  old 
knight,  which  condemned  her  noble,  friendless  lover  to 
imprisonment,  perhaps  to  death ;  and  yet,  a  maiden  modesty 
restrained  her  from  yielding  to  the  impulse  of  the  moment, 
to  throw  herself  at  the  feet  of  Berkeley,  confess  her  love, 
and  implore  his  pardon.  Alas  !  ill-fated  maiden,  it  would 
have  been  in  vain — as  she  too  truly,  too  fatally  discovered 
afterwards. 

The  extraordinary  appearance  and  conduct  of  Mamalis 
broke  up  for  the  present  any  further  conference  with  Ber- 
kenhead,  who — his  mendacity  having  established  his  inno- 
cence in  the  minds  of  the  loyalists — walked  off  with  a 
swaggering  gait,  rather  elated  than  otherwise  with  the 
result  of  his  interview.  Alfred  Bernard  followed  him  until 
they  turned  an  angle  of  the  house,  and  stood  beneath  the 
shade  of  one  of  the  broad  oaks,  which  spread  its  protecting 
branches  over  the  yard. 

Meantime  the  Governor,  with  such  of  his  council  as  had 
attended  him  to  Windsor  Hall,  retired  to  the  study  of  the 
old  Colonel,  which  had  been  fitted  up  both  for  the  chamber 

18* 


210  HANSFORD: 

of  his  most  distinguished  guest  and  for  the  deliberations  of 
the  council.  The  subject  which  now  engaged  their  atten- 
tion was  one  of  more  importance  than  any  that  had  ever 
come  before  them  since  the  commencement  of  the  dissen- 
sions in  Virginia.  The  mission  of  Hansford,  while  it  had 
failed  of  producing  the  effect  which  he  so  ardently  desired, 
had,  notwithstanding,  made  a  strong  impression  upon  the 
mind  of  the  Governor.  He  saw  too  plainly  that  it  would 
be  vain  to  resist  the  attack  of  Bacon,  at  the  head  of  five 
hundred  men,  among  whom  were  to  be  ranked  the  very 
chivalry  of  Virginia  ;  while  his  own  force  consisted  merely 
of  his  faithful  adherents  in  the  council,  and  about  fifty  mer- 
cenary troops,  whose  sympathies  with  the  insurgents  were 
strongly  suspected. 

"  I  see,"  said  the  old  man,  gloomily,  as  he  took  his  seat 
at  the  council-board,  "that  I  must  seek  some  other  refuge. 
I  am  hunted  like  a  wild  beast  from  place  to  place,  through 
a  country  that  was  once  my  own,  and  by  those  who  were 
once  the  loving  subjects  of  my  king." 

"  Remain  here  !"  said  the  impulsive  old  Temple.  "  The 
people  of  Gloucester  will  yet  rally  around  your  standard, 
when  they  see  open  treason  is  contemplated  ;  and  should 
they  still  refuse,  zounds,  we  may  yet  offer  resistance  with 
my  servants  and  slaves." 

"My  dear  friend,"  said  Berkeley,  sorrowfully,  "  if  all 
Virginians  were  like  yourself,  there  would  have  been  no  re- 
bellion— there  would  have  been  no  difficulty  in  suppressing 
one,  if  attempted.  But  alas  !  the  loyalty  of  the  people  of 
Gloucester  has  already  been  weighed  in  the  balance  and 
found  wanting.  No,  I  have  acted  hastily,  foolishly,  blindly. 
I  have  warmed  this  serpent  into  life  by  my  forbearance  and 
indulgence,  and  must  at  last  be  the  victim  of  its  venom  and 
my  folly.  Oh  !  that  I  had  refused  the  commission,  which 
armed  this  traitor  with  legal  power.  I  have  put  a  sword 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          211 

into  the  hands  of  an  enemy,  and  may  be  the  first  to  fall 
by  it." 

"  It  is  useless  to  repine  over  the  past,"  said  Philip  Lud- 
well,  kindly;  "but  the  power  of  these  rebels  cannot  last 
long.  The  people  who  are  loyal  at  heart  will  fall  from 
their  support,  and  military  aid  will  be  received  from  Eng- 
land ere  long.  Then  the  warmed  reptile  may  be  crushed." 

"  To  my  mind,"  said  Ballard,  "it  were  better  to  repair 
the  evil  that  has  been  done  by  retracing  our  steps,  rather 
than  to  proceed  further.  When  a  man  is  over  his  depth, 
he  had  better  return  to  the  shore  than  to  attempt  to  cross 
the  unfathomable  stream." 

"  Refrain  from  enigmas,  if  you  please,"  said  Berkeley, 
coldly,  "and  tell  me  to  what  you  refer." 

"  Simply, "replied  Ballard,  firmly,  "that  all  this  evil  has 
resulted  from  your  following  the  Jesuitical  counsel  of  a  boy, 
rather  than  the  prudent  caution  of  your  advisers.  My 
honoured  sir,  forgive  me  if  I  say  it  is  now  your  duty  to 
acquiesce  in  the  request  of  Major  Hansford,  and  withdraw 
your  proclamation." 

"And  succumb  to  traitors!"  cried  Berkeley.  "Never 
while  God  gives  me  breath  to  reiterate  it.  He  who  would 
treat  with  a  traitor,  is  himself  but  little  better  than  a 
traitor." 

The  flush  which  mounted  to  the  brow  of  Ballard  attested 
his  indignation  at  this  grave  charge ;  but  before  he  had 
time  to  utter  the  retort  which  rose  to  his  lips,  Berkeley 
added, 

"  Forgive  me,  Ballard,  for  my  haste.  But  the  bare  idea 
of  making  terms  with  these  audacious  rebels  roused  my 
very  blood.  No,  no  !  I  can  die  in  defence  of  my  trust,  but 
I  cannot,  will  not  yield  it." 

"  But  it  is  not  yielding,"  said  Ballard. 

"  Nay — no  more  of  that,"  interrupted  Berkeley;  "let  us 
devise  some  other  means.  I  have  it,"  he  added,  after  a 


212  HANSFORD: 

pause.  "  Accomac  is  still  true  to  ray  interest,  and  divided 
from  the  mainland  by  the  bay,  is  difficult  of  access.  There 
will  I  pitch  my  tent,  and  sound  my  defiance — and  when  aid 
shall  come  from  England,  these  proud  and  insolent  traitors 
shall  feel  the  power  of  my  vengeance  the  more  for  this  insult 
to  my  weakness." 

This  scheme  met  with  the  approbation  of  all  present, 
with  the  exception  of  old  Ballard,  who  shook  his  head,  and 
muttered,  that  he  hoped  it  might  all  be  for  the  best.  And 
so  it  was  determined  that  early  the  next  morning  the  loyal 
refugees  should  embark  on  board  a  vessel  then  lying  off 
Tindal's  Point,  and  sail  for  Accomac. 

"And  we  will  celebrate  our  departure  by  hanging  up 
that  young  rogue,  Hansford,  in  half  an  hour,"  said  Berkeley. 

"By  what  law,  may  it  please  your  excellency  ?"  asked 
Ballard,  surprised  at  this  threat. 

"By  martial  law." 

"And  for  what  offence?" 

"  Why  zounds,  Ballard,  you  have  turned  advocate-general 
for  all  the  rebels  in  the  country,"  said  Berkeley,  petulantly. 

"  No,  Sir  William,  I  am  advocating  the  cause  of  justice 
and  of  my  king  " 

"  Well,  sir,  what  would  you  advise  ?  To  set  the  rogue 
at  liberty,  I  suppose,  and  by  our  leniency  to  encourage 
treason." 

"By  no  means,"  said  Ballard.  "But  either  to  commit 
him  to  custody  until  he  may  be  fairly  tried  by  a  jury  of  his 
peers,  or  to  take  him  with  you  to  Accomac,  where,  by  fur- 
ther developments  of  this  insurrection,  you  may  better  judge 
of  the  nature  of  his  offence. " 

"  And  a  hospitable  reception  would  await  me  in  Acco- 
mac, forsooth,  if  I  appeared  there  with  a  prisoner  of  war, 
whom  I  did  not  have  the  firmness  to  punish  as  his  crime 
deserves.  No,  by  heaven  !  I  will  not  be  encumbered  with 
prisoners.  His  life  is  forfeit  to  the  law,  and  as  he  would 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         213 

prove  an  apostle  of  liberty,  let  him  be  a  martyr  to  his 
cause." 

"  Let  me  add  my  earnest  intercession  to  that  of  Colonel 
Ballard,"  said  Temple,  "in  behalf  of  this  unhappy  man. 
I  surely  have  some  claim  upon  your  benevolence,  and  I  ask 
his  life  as  a  personal  boon  to  me." 

"  Oh,  assuredly,  since  you  rely  upon  your  hospitable  pro- 
tection to  us,  you  should  have  your  fee,"  said  Berkeley,  with 
a  sneer.  "  But  not  in  so  precious  a  coin  as  a  rebel's  life. 
If  you  have  suffered  by  the  protection  afforded  to  the 
deputy  of  your  king,  you  shall  not  lack  remuneration.  But 
the  coin  shall  be  the  head  of  Carolus  II.  j*  this  rebel's  head 
I  claim  as  my  own." 

"  Now,  by  heaven  !"  returned  Temple,  thoroughly  aroused, 
"  it  requires  all  my  loyalty  to  stomach  so  foul  an  insult.  My 
royal  master's  exchequer  could  illy  remunerate  me  for  the 
gross  language  heaped  upon  me  by  his  deputy.  But  let 
this  pass.  You  are  my  guest,  sir  j  and  that  I  cannot  sepa- 
rate the  Governor  from  the  man,  I  am  prevented  from 
resenting  an  insult,  which  else  I  could  but  little  brook." 

"As  you  please,  mine  host,"  replied  Berkeley.  "But, 
in  truth,  I  have  wronged  you,  Temple.  But  think,  my 
friend,  of  the  pang  the  shepherd  must  feel,  when  he  finds 
that  he  has  let  a  wolf  into  his  fold,  which  he  is  unable  to 
resist.  Oh,  think  of  this,  and  bear  with  me !" 

Temple  knew  the  old  Governor  too  well  to  doubt  the 
sincerity  of  this  retraxit,  and  with  a  cordial  grasp  of  the 
hand,  he  assured  Berkeley  of  his  forgiveness.  "And  yet," 
he  added,  warmly,  "  I  cannot  forget  the  cause  I  advocate, 
for  this  first  rebuff.  Believe  me,  Sir  William,  you  will  gain 
nothing,  but  lose  much,  by  proceeding  harshly  against  this 
unhappy  young  man.  In  the  absence  of  any  evidence  of 
his  guilt,  you  will  arouse  the  indignation  of  the  colonists  to 
such  a  height,  that  it  will  be  difficult  to  pacify  them." 

*  The  coin  during  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 


214  HANSFORD: 

"  Pardon  me,  Sir  William  Berkeley,"  said  Bernard,  who 
had  joined  the  party,  "  but  would  it  not  be  well  to  examine 
this  knave,  Berkenhead,  touching  the  movements  and  inten- 
tions of  the  insurgents,  and  particularly  concerning  any 
expressions  which  may  have  fallen  from  this  young  gentle- 
man ?  If  it  shall  appear  that  he  is  guiltless  of  the  crime 
imputed  to  him,  then  you  may  safely  yield  to  the  solicita- 
tions of  these  gentlemen,  and  liberate  him.  But  if  it  shall 
appear  that  he  is  guilty,  they,  in  their  turn,  cannot  object 
to  his  meeting  the  penalty  which  his  treason  richly  de- 
serves." 

"  Now,  by  heaven,  the  young  man  speaks  truthfully  and 
wisely,"  said  Temple,  assured,  by  the  former  interview  with 
Berkenhead,  that  he  knew  of  nothing  which  could  convict 
the  prisoner.  "  Nor  do  I  see,  Sir  William,  what  better 
course  you  can  adopt  than  to  follow  his  counsel." 

"  Truly,"  said  Berkeley,  "  the  young  man  has  proven 
himself  the  very  Elihu  of  counsellors.  '  Great  men  are  not 
always  wise,  neither  do  the  aged  understand  judgment. 
But  there  is  a  spirit  in  man,  and  the  inspiration  of  the 
Almighty  giveth  them  understanding.'  Yet  t  fear,  Colonel 
Temple,  you  will  scarcely,  after  my  impetuosity  just  now, 
deem  me  a  Job  for  patience,  though  Alfred  may  be  an 
Elihu  for  understanding.  Your  counsel  is  good,  young 
man.  Let  the  knave  be  brought  hither  to  testify,  and  look 
ye  that  the  prisoner  be  introduced  to  confront  him.  My 
friends,  Ballard  and  Temple,  are  such  sticklers  for  law,  that 
we  must  not  deviate  from  Magna  Charta  or  the  Petition  of 
Right.  But  stay,  we  will  postpone  this  matter  till  the 
morrow.  I  had  almost  forgotten  it  was  the  Sabbath. 
Loyal  churchmen  should  venerate  the  day,  even  when  trea- 
son is  abroad  in  the  land.  Meantime,  let  the  villain  Ber- 
kenhead be  kept  in  close  custody,  lest  he  should  escape." 


A  TALE  or  BACON'S  REBELLION.      215 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

"  I  tell  thee  what,  my  friend, 
He  is  a  very  serpent  in  my  way." 

King  John. 

THE  reader  will  naturally  desire  to  know  what  induced 
the  milder  counsel  recommended  by  Alfred  Bernard  to  the 
Governor.  If  we  have  been  successful  in  impressing  upon 
the  mind  of  the  reader  a  just  estimate  of  the  character  of 
the  young  Jesuit,  he  will  readily  conjecture  that  it  was  from 
no  kindly  feeling  for  his  rival,  and  no  inherent  love  of  jus- 
tice that  he  suggested  such  a  policy;  and  if  he  be  of  a 
different  opinion,  he  need  only  go  back  with  us  to  the 
interview  between  Bernard  and  Berkenhead,  to  which  allu- 
sion was  made  in  the  chapter  immediately  preceding  th& 
last. 

We  have  said  that  Alfred  Bernard  followed  the  renegade 
rebel  until  they  stood  together  beneath  a  large  oak  tree 
which  stood  at  the  corner  of  the  house.  Here  they  stopped 
as  if  by  mutual,  though  tacit  consent,  and  Berkenhead  turn- 
ing sharply  around  upon  his  companion,  said  in  an  offended 
tone — "What  is  your  further  will  with  me  sir?" 

"  You  seem  not  to  like  your  comrade  Major  Hansford  ?" 

"Oh  well  enough,"  replied  Berkenhead;  "there  are 
many  better  and  many  worse  than  him.  But  I  don't  see 
how  the  likes  and  the  dislikes  of  a  poor  soldier  can  have 
any  concernment  with  you. " 

"  I  assure  you,"  said  Bernard,  "it  is  from  no  impertinent 
curiosity,  but  a  real  desire  to  befriend  you,  that  I  ask  the 
question.  The  Governor  strongly  suspects  your  integrity, 
and  that  you  are  concealing  from  him  more  than  it  suits 


216  HANSFORD: 

you  to  divulge.  Now,  I  would  do  you  a  service  and  advise 
you  how  you  may  reinstate  yourself  in  his  favour." 

"  Well,  that  seems  kind  on  the  outside,"  said  the  soldier, 
"seeing  as  you  seems  to  be  one  of  the  blooded  gentry,  and 
I  am  nothing  but  a  plain  Dunstable.*  But  rough  iron  is 
as  soft  as  polished  steel." 

"  I  believe  you,"  said  Bernard.  "  Now  you  have  not 
much  reason  to  waste  your  love  on  this  Major  Hansford. 
He  threatened  to  beat  you,  as  you  say,  and  a  freeborn 
Englishman  does  not  bear  an  iusult  like  that  with  im- 
punity. " 

"  No,  your  honour,"  replied  the  man,  "and  I've  known 
the  day  when  a  Plymouth  cloak  •)•  would  protect  me  from 
insult  as  well  as  a  frieze  coat  from  cold.  But  I  am  too  old 
for  that  now,  and  so  I  had  better  swallow  an  insult  dry, 
than  butter  it  with  my  own  marrow." 

"And  are  there  not  other  modes  of  revenge  than  by  a 
blow  ?  Where  are  your  wits,  man  ?  What  makes  the  man 
stronger  than  the  horse  that  carries  him  ?  I  tell  you,  a  keen 
wit  is  to  physical  force  what  your  carbine  is  to  the  toma- 
hawk of  these  red-skins.  It  fires  at  a  distance." 

The  old  soldier  looked  up  with  a  gleam  of  intelligence, 
and  Bernard  continued — 

"  Bethink  you,  did  you  hear  nothing  from  Hansford  by 
which  you  might  infer  that  his  ultimate  design  was  to  over- 
turn the  government?" 

"  Why  I  can't  exactly  say  that  I  did,"  returned  the  fel- 
low. "  To  be  sure  they  all  prate  about  liberty  and  the  like, 
but  I  reckon  that  is  an  Englishman's  privilege,  providing 
he  takes  it  out  in  talking.  But  there  may  be  fire  in  the 
bed-straw  for  all  my  ignorance. "{ 

"Well,  I  am  sorry  for  you,"  said  Bernard,  "for  if  you 

*  An  old  English  expression  for  a  rough,  honest  fellow. 

j-  A  bludgeon. 

J  There  may  be  danger  in  the  design. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          2  If 

could  only  remember  any  thing  to  convict  this  young  rebel, 
I  would  warrant  you  a  free  pardon  and  a  sound  neck." 

"  Well,  now,  as  I  come  to  think  of  it,"  said  the  unscru- 
pulous renegade,  "  there  might  be  some  few  things  he  let 
drop,  not  much  in  themselves,  but  taken  together,  as  might 
weave  a  right  strong  tow ;  and  zounds,  I  don't  think  a  man 
can  be  far  wrong  to  untwist  the  rope  about  his  own  neck 
by  tying  it  to  another.  For  concerning  of  life,  your 
honour,  while  I  have  no  great  care  to  risk  it  in  battle,  I 
don't  crave  to  choke  it  out  with  one  of  these  hemp  cravats. 
And  so  being  as  I  have  already  done  the  state  some  ser- 
vice, I  feel  it  my  duty  to  save  her  if  I  can." 

"  Now,  thanks  to  that  catch-word  of  the  rogue,"  mut- 
tered Bernard,  "lam  like  to  have  easy  work  to-night. 
Hark  ye,  Mr.  Berkenhead,"  he  added,  aloud,  "I  think  it  is 
likely  that  the  Governor  may  wish  to  ask  you  a  question  or 
two  touching  this  matter  of  which  we  have  been  speaking. 
In  the  meantime  here  is  something  which  may  help  you  to 
get  along  with  these  soldiers,"  and  he  placed  a  sovereign 
in  the  fellow's  hand. 

"Thank  your  honour,"  said  Berkenhead,  humbly,  "and 
seeing  its  not  in  the  way  of  bribe,  I  suppose  I  may  take  it." 

"  Oh,  no  bribe,"  replied  Bernard,  smiling,  "  but  mark  me, 
tell  a  good  story.  The  stronger  your  evidence  the  safer  is 
your  head." 

Bernard  returned,  as  we  have  seen,-  to  the  Governor,  for 
the  further  development  of  his  diabolical  designs,  and  in  a 
short  time  Berkenhead,  under  a  guard  of  soldiers,  was  con- 
ducted to  his  quarters  for  the  night,  in  a  store-house  which 
stood  in  the  yard  some  distance  from  the  house. 

As  the  house  to  which  the  renegade  insurgent  was  con- 
signed was  deemed  sufficiently  secure,  and  the  soldiers 
wearied  with  a  long  march,  were  again  to  proceed  on  their 
journey  on  the  morrow,  it  was  not  considered  necessary  to 
place  a  guard  before  the  door  of  this  temporary  cell — the 
19 


218  HANSFORD: 

precaution,  however,  being  taken  to  appoint  a  sentry  at 
each  side  of  the  mansion-house,  and  at  the  door  of  the 
apartment  in  which  the  unhappy  Hansford  was  confined. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

"  Ha !  sure  he  sleeps — all's  dark  within  save  what 
A  lamp,  that  feebly  lifts  a  sickly  flame, 
By  fits  reveals.     His  face  seems  turned  to  favour 
The  attempt.     I'll  steal  and  do  it  unperceived." 

Mourning  Bride. 

ALL  were  wrapt  in  silence  and  in  slumber,  save  the  weary 
sentinels,  who  paced  drowsily  up  and  down  before  the  door 
of  the  house,  humming  in  a  low  tone  the  popular  Lillibul- 
lero,  or  silently  communing  with  their  brother  sentry  in  the 
sky.  The  family,  providing  for  the  fatigues  of  the  follow- 
ing day,  had  early  retired  to  rest,  and  even  Virginia,  worn 
down  by  excitement  and  agitation,  having  been  assured  by 
her  father  of  the  certain  safety  of  Hansford,  had  yielded  to 
the  restoring  influences  of  "sleep.  How  little  did  the  art- 
less girl,  or  her  unsuspicious  father,  suppose  that  beneath 
their  roof  they  had  been  cherishing  a  demon,  who,  by  his 
wily  machinations,  was  weaving  a  web  around  his  innocent 
victim,  cruel  and  inextricable. 

We  have  said  that  all  save  the  watchful  sentinels  were 
sleeping ;  but  one  there  was  from  whose  eyes  and  from 
whose  heart  revenge  had  driven  sleep.  Mamalis — the  poor, 
hapless  Mamalis — whose  sorrows  had  been  forgotten  in  the 
general  excitement  which  had  prevailed — Mamalis  knew 
but  one  thought,  and  that  was  no  dream.  Her  brother, 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          219 

the  pride  and  refuge  of  her  maiden  heart,  lay  stiff  and  mur- 
dered by  the  way-side — his  death  unwept,  his  dirge  unsung, 
his  brilliant  hopes  of  fame  cut  off  ere  they  had  fully  budded. 
And  his  murderer  was  near  her !  Could  she  hesitate  ? 
Had  she  not  been  taught,  in  her  simple  faith,  that  the  blood 
of  the  victim  requires  the  blood  of  his  destroyer  ?  The 
voice  of  her  brother's  blood  called  to  her  from  the  ground. 
Nor  did  it  call  in  vain.  It  is  true,  he  had  been  harsh,  nay 
sometimes  even  cruel  to  her,  but  when  was  woman's  heart, 
when  moved  to  softness,  ever  mindful  of  the  wrongs  she 
had  endured  ?  Ask  yourself,  when  standing  by  the  lifeless 
corse  of  one  whom  you  have  dearly  loved,  if  then  you  can 
remember  aught  but  kindness,  and  love,  and  happiness,  in 
your  association  with  the  loved  one.  One  gentle  word,  one 
sweet  smile,  one  generous  action,  though  almost  faded  from 
the  memory  before,  obscures  forever  all  the  recollection  of 
wrongs  inflicted  and  injuries  endured. 

She  was  in  the  room  occupied  by  Virginia  Temple.  Oh, 
what  a  contrast  between  the  two  !  Yes,  there  they  were — 
Revenge  and  Innocence  !  The  one  lay  pure  and  beautiful 
in  sleep  ;  her  round,  white  arm  thrown  back  upon  the  pil- 
low, to  form  a  more  snowy  resting  place  for  her  lovely 
cheek.  From  beneath  her  cap  some  tresses  had  escaped, 
which,  happy  in  release,  were  sporting  in  the  soft  air  that 
wooed  them  through  the  open  window.  Her  face,  at  other 
times  too  spiritually  pale,  was  now  slightly  flushed  by  the 
sultry  warmth  of  the  night.  A  smile  of  peaceful  happiness 
played  around  her  lips,  as  she  dreamed,  perhaps,  of  some 
wild  flower  ramble  which  in  happier  days  she  had  had  with 
Hansford.  Her  snowy  bosom,  which  in  her  restlessness 
she  had  nearly  bared,  was  white  and  swelling  as  a  wave 
which  plays  in  the  calm  moonlight.  Such  was  the  beautiful 
being  who  lay  sleeping  calmly  in  the  arms  of  Innocence, 
while  the  dark,  but  not  less  striking,  form  of  the  Indian 
girl  bent  over,  to  discover  if  she  slept.  She  was  dressed  as 


220  HANSFORD: 

we  have  before  described,  with  the  short  deer-skin  smock, 
extending  to  her  knees,  and  fitted  closely  round  the  waist 
with  a  belt  of  wampum.  Her  long  black  hair  was  bound 
by  a  simple  riband,  and  fell  thickly  over  her  shoulders  in 
dark  profusion.  In  her  left  hand  she  held  a  lamp,  and  it 
was  fearful  to  mark,  by  its  faint,  glimmering  light,  the 
intense  earnestness  of  her  countenance.  There  were  some 
traces  of  tears  upon  her  cheek,  but  these  were  nearly  dried. 
Her  bright  black  eyes  were  lighted  by  a  strange,  unnatural 
fire,  which  they  never  knew  before.  It  seemed  as  though 
you  might  see  them  in  the  dark.  In  her  right  hand  she 
held  a  small  dagger,  which  he  had  given  her  as  a  pledge  of 
a  brother's  love.  Fit  instrument  to  avenge  a  brother's 
death  ! 

She  seemed  to  be  listening  and  watching  to  hear  or  see 
the  slightest  movement  from  the  slumbering  maiden.  But 
all  was  still ! 

"I  slept  not  thus,"  she  murmured,  "the  night  I  heard 
him  vow  his  vengeance  against  your  father.  Before  the 
birds  had  sung  their  morning  song  I  came  to  warn  you. 
Now  all  I  loved,  my  country,  my  friends,  my  brother,  have 
gone  forever,  and  none  shares  the  tears  of  the  Indian 
maiden." 

She  turned  away  with  a  sigh  from  the  bedside  of  Yir. 
ginia,  and  carefully  replaced  the  dagger  in  her  belt.  She 
then  took  a  key  which  was  lying  on  the  table  and  clutched 
it  with  an  air  of  triumph.  That  key  she  had  stolen  from 
the  pocket  of  Alfred  Bernard  while  he  slept— for  what  will 
not  revenge,  and  woman's  revenge,  dare  to  do.  Then 
taking  up  a  water  pitcher,  and  extinguishing  the  light,  she 
softly  left  the  room. 

As  she  endeavoured  to  pass  the  outer  door  she  was 
accosted  by  the  hoarse  voice  of  the  sentinel — "Who  comes 
there  ?"  he  cried. 

"A  friend,"  she  answered,  timidly. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          221 

"You  cannot  pass,  friend,  without  a  permit  from  the 
Governor.  Them's  his  orders." 

"I  go  to  bring  some  water  for  the  sick  maiden,"  she 
said  earnestly,  showing  him  the  pitcher.  "  She  is  far  from 
well.  Let  her  not  suffer  for  a  draught  of  water." 

"  Well,"  said  the  pliant  soldier,  yielding;  "you  are  a 
good  pleader,  pretty  one.  That  dark  face  of  yours  looks 
devilish  well  by  moonlight.  What  say  you ;  if  I  let  you 
pass,  will  you  come  and  sit  with  me  when  you  get  back  ? 
It's  damned  lonesome  out  here  by  myself." 

"  I  will  do  any  thing  you  wish  when  I  return,"  said  the 
girl. 

"  Easily  won,  by  Wenus,"  said  the  gallant  soldier,  as  he 
permitted  Mamalis  to  pass  on  her  supposed  errand. 

Freed  from  this  obstruction,  she  glided  rapidly  through 
the  yard,  and  soon  stood  before  the  door  of  the  small  house 
which  she  had  learned  was  appropriated  as  the  prison  of 
Berkenhead.  Turning  the  key  softly  in  the  lock,  she  pulled 
the  latch-string  and  gently  opened  the  door.  A  flood  of 
moonlight  streamed  upon  the  floor,  encumbered  with  a 
variety  of  plantation  utensils.  By  the  aid  of  this  light 
Mamalis  soon  recognized  the  form  and  features  of  the  fated 
Berkenhead,  who  was  sleeping  in  one  corner  of  the  room. 
She  knelt  over  him  and  feasted  her  eyes  with  the  anticipa- 
tion of  her  deep  revenge.  Fearing  to  be  defeated  in  her 
design,  for  with  her  it  was  the  foiled  attempt  and  "  not  the 
act  which  might  confound,"  she  bared  his  bosom  and  sought 
his  heart.  The  motion  startled  the  sleeping  soldier.  "  The 
devil,"  he  said,  half  opening  his  eyes;  "its  damned  light." 
Just  as  he  pronounced  the  last  word  the  fatal  dagger  of 
Mamalis  found  its  way  into  his  heart.  "It  is  all  dark 
now,"  she  said,  bitterly,  and  rising  from  her  victim,  she 
glided  through  the  door  and  left  him  with  his  God. 

With  the  native  shrewdness  of  her  race,  Mamalis  did  not 
forget  that  she  had  still  to  play  a  part,  and  so  without 
19* 


222  HANSFORD: 

returning  directly  to  the  house,  she  repaired  to  the  well 
and  filled  her  pitcher.  She  even  offered  the  sentinel  a 
drink  as  she  repassed  him  on  her  return,  and  promising 
once  more  to  come  back,  when  she  had  carried  the  water 
to  the  "sick  maiden,"  she  stole  quietly  into  the  room  occu- 
pied by  Bernard,  replaced  the  key  in  his  pocket  as  before, 
and  hastened  up  stairs  again. 

And  there  seated  once  more  by  the  bedside  of  the  sleep- 
ing Virginia,  the  young  Indian  girl  sang,  in  a  low  voice, 
at  once  her  song  of  triumph  and  her  brother's  dirge,  in 
that  rich  oriental  improvisation  for  which  the  Indians  were 
so  remarkable.  We  will  not  pretend  to  give  in  the  original 
words  of  this  beautiful  requiem,  but  furnish  the  reader,  in 
default  of  a  better,  with  the  following  free  translation,  which 
may  give  some  faint  idea  of  its  beauty : — 

"  They  have  plucked  the  flower  from  the  garden  of  my 
heart,  and  have  torn  the  soil  where  it  tenderly  grew.  He 
was  bright  and  beautiful  as  the  bounding  deer,  and  the 
shaft  from  his  bow  was  as  true  as  his  unchanging  soul  1 
Best  with  the  Great  Spirit,  soul  of  my  brother.  ! 

"  The  Great  Spirit  looked  down  in  pity  on  my  brother ; 
Manitou  has  snatched  him  from  the  hands  of  the  dreadful 
Okee.  On  the  shores  of  the  spirit-land,  with  the  warriors 
of  his  tribe  he  sings  the  song  of  his  glory,  and  chases  the 
spirit  deer  over  the  immaterial  plains !  Rest  with  the  Great 
Spirit,  soul  of  my  brother  I  ' 

"  But  I,  his  sister,  am  left  lonely  and  desolate ;  the 
hearth-stone  of  Mamalis  is  deserted.  Yet  has  my  hand 
sought  revenge  for  his  murder,  and  my  bosom  exults  over 
the  destruction  of  his  destroyer !  Rest  with  the  Great 
Spirit,  soul  of  my  brother ! 

"  Rest  with  the  Great  Spirit,  soul  of  Manteo,  till  Mama- 
lis shall  come  to  enjoy  thy  embraces.  Then  welcome  to 
thy  spirit  home  the  sister  of  thy  youth,  and  reward  with 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          223 

thy  love  the  avenger  of  thy  death!     Rest  with  the  Great 
Spirit,  soul  of  my  brother!". 

As  her  melancholy  requiem  died  away,  Mamalis  rose 
silently  from  the  seat,  and  bent  once  more  over  the  form  of 
the  sleeping  Virginia.  As  she  felt  the  warm  breath  of  the 
pure  young  girl  upon  her  cheek,  and  watched  the  regular 
beating  of  her  heart,  and  then  contrasted  the  purity  of  the 
sleeping  maiden  with  her  own  wild,  guilty  nature,  she 
started  back  in  horror.  For  the  first  time  she  felt  remorse 
at  the  commission  of  her  crime,  and  with  a  heavy  sigh  she 
hurriedly  left  the  room,  as  though  it  were  corrupted  by  her 
presence. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

"  And  smile,  and  smile,  and  smile,  and  be  a  villain." 

King  John. 

GREAT  was  the  horror  of  the  loyalists,  on  the  following 
morning,  at  the  discovery  of  the  horrible  crime  which  had 
been  perpetrated ;  but  still  greater  was  the  mystery  as  to 
who  was  the  guilty  party.  There  was  no  mode  of  getting 
admittance  to  the  house  in  which  Berkenhead  was  confined, 
except  through  the  door,  the  key  of  which  was  in  the  pos- 
session of  Alfred  Bernard.  Even  if  the  position  and  stand- 
ing of  this  young  man  had  not  repelled  the  idea  that  he 
was  cognizant  of  the  crime,  his  own  unfeigned  surprise  at 
the  discovery,  and  the  absence  of  any  motive  for  its  com- 
mission, acquitted  him  in  the  minds  of  all.  And  yet,  if  this 
hypothesis  was  avoided,  it  was  impossible  to  form  any 


224  HANSFORD : 

rational  theory  on  the  subject.  There  were  but  two  per- 
sons connected  with  the  establishment  who  could  be  pre- 
sumed to  have  any  plausible  motive  for  murdering  Berken- 
head.  Hansford  might  indeed  be  suspected  of  a  desire  to 
suppress  evidence  which  would  be  dangerous  to  his  own 
safety,  but  then  Hansford  was  himself  in  close  confinement. 
Mamalis,  too,  had  manifested  a  spirit,  the  evening  before, 
towards  the  unhappy  man,  which  might  very  naturally  sub- 
ject her  to  suspicion  ;  but,  besides  that,  she  played  her  part 
of  surprise  to  perfection — it  could  not  be  conceived  how 
she  had  gotten  possession  of  the  key  of  the  room.  The 
sentinel  might  indeed  have  thrown  much  light  upon  the 
subject,  but  he  kept  his  own  counsel  for  fear  of  the  conse- 
quences of  disobedience  to  orders  ;  and  he  boldly  asserted 
that  no  one  had  left  the  house  during  the  night.  This  evi- 
dence, taken  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  the  young  girl 
was  found  sleeping,  as  usual,  in  the  little  room  adjoining 
Virginia's  chamber,  entirely  exculpated  her  from  any  par- 
ticipation in  the  crime.  Nothing  then  was  left  for  it,  but 
to  suppose  that  the  unhappy  man,  in  a  fit  of  desperation, 
had  himself  put  a  period  to  his  existence.  A  little  investi- 
gation might  have  easily  satisfied  them  that  such  an  hypo- 
thesis was  as  groundless  as  the  rest ;  for  it  was  afterwards 
ascertained  by  Colonel  Temple,  after  a  strict  search,  that 
no  weapon  was  found  on  or  near  the  body,  nor  in  the  apart- 
ment where  it  lay.  But  Sir  William  Berkeley,  anxious  to 
proceed  upon  his  way  to  Accomac,  and  caring  but  little-, 
perhaps,  for  the  fate  of  a  rebel,  whose  life  was  probably 
shortened  but  a  few  hours,  gave  the  affair  a  very  hurried 
and  summary  examination.  Bernard,  with  his  quick  saga- 
city, discovered,  or  at  least  shrewdly  suspected,  the  truth, 
and  Mamalis  felt,  as  he  fixed  his  dark  eyes  upon  her,  that 
he  had  read  the  mystery  of  her  heart.  But,  for  his  own 
reasons,  the  villain  for  the  present  maintained  the  strictest 
silence  on  the  subject. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          225 

But  this  catastrophe,  so  fatal  to  Berkenhead,  was  fortu- 
nate for  young  Hansford.  The  Governor,  more  true  to  his 
word  to  loyalists  than  he  had  hitherto  been  to  the  insur- 
gents,, released  our  hero  from  imprisonment,  in  the  absence 
of  any  testimony  against  him.  And,  to  the  infinite  chagrin 
of  Alfred  Bernard,  his  rival,  once  more  at  liberty,  was 
again,  in  the  language  of  the  treacherous  Plantagenet,  "  a 
very  serpent  in  his  way."  He  had  too  surely  discovered, 
that  so  long  as  Hansford  lived,  the  heart  of  Virginia  Tem- 
ple, or  what  he  valued  far  more,  her  hand,  could  never  be 
given  to  another  ;  and  yet  he  felt,  that  if  he  were  out  of  the 
Way,  and  that  heart,  though  widowed,  free  to  choose  again, 
the  emotions  of  mistaken  gratitude  would  prompt  her  to 
listen  with  favour  to  his  suit.  With  all  his  faults,  too,  and 
with  his  mercenary  motives,  Bernard  was  not  without  a 
feeling,  resembling  love,  for  Virginia.  We  are  told  that 
there  are  fruits  and  flowers  which,  though  poisonous  in  their 
native  soil,  when  transplanted  and  cherished  under  more 
genial  circumstances,  become  at  once  fair  to  the  eye  and 
wholesome  to  the  taste.  It  is  thus  with  love.  In  the  wild, 
sterile  heart  of  Alfred  Bernard  it  had  taken  root,  and 
poisoned  all  his  nature  ;  but  yet  it  was  the  same  emotion 
which  shed  a  genial  influence  over  the  manly  heart- of  Hans- 
ford.  If  it  had  been  otherwise,  there  were  some  as  fair, 
and  many  far  more  wealthy,  in  his  adopted  colony,  than 
Virginia  Temple.  But  she  was  at  once  adapted  to  his  inte- 
rests, his  passions,  and  his  intellect.  She  could  aid  his 
vaulting  ambition  by  sharing  with  him  her  wealth ;  she 
could  control,  by  the  strength  of  her  character,  and  the 
sweetness  of  her  disposition,  his  own  wild  nature  ;  and  she 
could  be  the  instructive  and  congenial  companion  of  his 
intellect.  And  all  this  rich  treasure  might  be  his  but  for 
the  existence,  the  rivalry  of  the  hated  Hansford.  Still  his 
ardent  nature  led  him  to  hope.  With  all  his  heart  he  would 
engage  in  quelling  the  rebellion,  which  he  foresaw  was 


226  HANSFORD: 

about  to  burst  upon  the  colony;  and  then  revenge,  the 
sweetest  morsel  to  the  jealous  mind,  was  his.  Meantime, 
he  must  look  the  innocent  flower,  but  be  the  serpent  under 
it ;  and  curbing  his  own  feelings,  must,  under  pretence  of 
friendship  and  interest  for  a  rival,  continue  to  plot  his  ruin. 
Alfred  Bernard  was  equal  to  the  task. 

It  was  with  these  feelings  that  he  sought  Virginia  Tem- 
ple on  the  eve  of  his  departure  from  Windsor  Hall.  The 
young  girl  was  seaied,  with  her  lover,  on  a  rude,  rustic 
bench,  beneath  the  large  oak  where  Bernard  had,  the  eve- 
ning before,  had  an  interview  with  the  unfortunate  Berken- 
head.  As  he  approached,  she  rose,  and  with  her  usual 
winning  frankness  of  manner,  she  extended  her  hand. 

"  Come,  Mr.  Bernard,"  she  said,  "  I  have  determined 
that  you  and  Major  Hansford  shall  be  friends." 

"Most  willingly,  on  my  part,"  said  the  smooth-tongued 
Bernard.  "  And  I  think  I  have  given  the  best  evidence  of 
my  disposition  to  be  so,  by  aiding  feebly  in  restoring  to 
Miss  Temple  an  old  friend,  when  she  must  now  so  soon  part 
with  her  more  recent  acquaintance." 

"  I  am  happy  to  think,"  said  Hansford,  whose  candour 
prevented  him  from  suppressing  entirely  the  coldness  of  his 
manner,  "  that  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Bernard  for  any  inte- 
rest he  may  have  taken  in  my  behalf.  I  hope,  sir,  you  will 
now  add  to  the  obligation  under  which  I  at  present  rest  to 
you,  by  apprising  me  in  what  manner  you  have  so  greatly 
obliged  me." 

"  Why,  you  must  be  aware,"  replied  Bernard,  "  that  your 
present  freedom  from  restraint  is  due  to  my  interposition 
with  Sir  William  Berkeley." 

"Oh  yes,  indeed,"  interposed  Virginia,  "for  I  heard  my 
father  say  that  it  was  Mr.  Bernard's  wise  suggestion,  adopted 
by  the  Governor,  which  secured  your  release." 

"  Hardly  so,"  returned  Hansford,  "  even  if  such  were  his 
disposition.  But,  if  I  am  rightly  informed,  your  assistance 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          22 Y 

only  extended  to  a  very  natural  request,  that  I  should  not 
be  judged  guilty  so  long  as  there  was  no  evidence  to  con- 
vict me.  If  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Bernard  for  impressing 
upon  the  mind  of  the  Governor  a  principle  of  law  as  old,  I 
believe,  as  Magna  Charta,  I  must  e'en  render  him  the  thanks 
which  are  justly  his  due,  and  which  he  seems  so  anxious  to 
demand." 

"  Mr.  Hansford,"  said  Virginia,  "  why  will  you  persist 
in  being  so  obstinate  ?  Is  it  such  a  hard  thing,  after  all, 
for  one  brave  man  to  owe  his  life  to  another,  or  for  an  inno- 
cent man  to  receive  justice  at  the  hands  of  a  generous  one  ? 
And  at  least,  I  should  think, •'  she  added,  with  the  least 
possible  pout,  "  that,  when  I  ask  as  a  favour  that  you  should 
be  friends,  you  should  not  refuse  me." 

"  Indeed,  Miss  Virginia,"  said  Alfred  Bernard,  without 
evincing  the  slightest  mark  of  displeasure ;  "  you  urge  this 
reconciliation  too  far.  If  Major  Hansford  have  some 
secret  cause  of  enmity  or  distrust  towards  me,  of  which  I 
am  ignorant,  I  beg  that  you  will  not  force  him  to  express 
a  sentiment  which  his  heart  does  not  entertain.  And  as 
for  his  gratitude,  which  he  seems  to  think  that  I  demand, 
I  assure  you,  that  for  any  service  which  I  may  have  done 
him,  I  am  sufficiently  compensated  by  my  own  conscious- 
ness of  rectitude  of  purpose,  and  nobly  rewarded  by  secur- 
ing your  approving  smile." 

"  Nobly,  generously  said,  Mr.  Bernard,"  replied  Yir- 
ginia,  "and  now  I  have  indeed  mistaken  Mr.  Hansford's 
character  if  he  fail  to  make  atonement  for  his  backward- 
ness, by  a  full,  free,  and  cordial  reconciliation." 

"  I  must  needs  give  you  my  left  hand,  then,"  said  Hans- 
ford,  extending  his  hand  with  as  much  cordiality  as  he 
could  assume ;  "  my  right  arm  is  disabled  as  you  perceive, 
by  a  wound  inflicted  by  one  of  the  enemies  of  my  country, 
against  whom  it  would  seem  it  is  treason  to  battle." 

"  Nay,  if  you  go  into  that  hateful  subject  again,"  said 


228  HANSFORD: 

Virginia,   "I  fear  there   is  not  much   cordiality  in  your 
heart  yet. " 

"  Oh  I  you  are  mistaken,  Miss  Temple,"  said  Bernard, 
gaily;  "you  must  remember  the  old  adage,  that  the  left  is 
nearest  to  the  heart.  Believe  me,  Major  Hansford  and 
myself  will  be  good  friends  yet,  and  when  we  hereafter  shall 
speak  of  our  former  estrangement,  it  will  only  be  to  remem- 
ber by  whose,  gentle  influence  we  were  reconciled.  But 
permit  me  to  hope,  Major,  that  your  wound  is  not  serious." 

"A  mere  trifle,  I  believe,  sir,"  returned  Hansford,  "but 
I  am  afaid  I  will  suffer  some  inconvenience  from  it  for  some 
time,  as  it  is  the  sword  arm ;  and  in  these  troublous  times 
it  may  fail  me,  when  it  should  be  prepared  to  defend. " 

"An  that  were  the  only  use  to  which  you  would  apply 
it,"  said  Virginia,  half  laughing,  and  half  in  earnest,  "I 
would  sincerely  hope  that  it  might  never  heal. " 

"  Oh  fear  not  but  that  it  will  soon  heal,"  said  Bernard. 
''The  most  dangerous  wounds  are  inflicted  here,"  laying 
his  hand  upon  his  heart;  "a  wound  dealt  not  by  a  savage, 
but  by  an  angel ;  not  from  the  arrow  of  the  ambushed  In- 
dian, but  from  the  quiver  of  the  mischievous  little  blind 
boy — and  the  more  fatal,  because  we  insanely  delight  to 
inflame  the  wound  instead  of  seeking  to  cure  it." 
x  "  Well  really,  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  Virginia,  rallying  the 
gay  young  euphuist,  "  the  flowers  of  gallantry  which  you 
have  brought  from  Windsor  Court,  thanks  to  your  foster- 
ing care,  flourish  quite  as  sweetly  in  this  wilderness  of 
Windsor  Hall.  Take  pity  on  an  illiterate  colonial  girl, 
and  tell  me  whether  this  is  the  language  of  Waller,  Cowley 
or  Dryden  ?" 

"  It  is  the  language  of  the  heart,  Miss  Temple,  on  the 
present  occasion  at  least,"  said  Bernard,  gravely;  "for  I 
am  admonished  that  it  is  time  I  should  say  farewell. 
Without  flowers  or  poetry,  Miss  Virginia,  I  bid  you 
adieu.  May  you  be  happy,  and  derive  from  your  asso- 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          229 

elation  with  others  that  high  enjoyment  which  you  are  so 
capable  of  bestowing.  Farewell,  Major  Hansford,  we  may 
meet  again,  I  trust,  when  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  invoke 
the  interposition  of  a  fair  mediator  to  effect  a  reconcilia- 
tion." 

Hansford  well  understood  the  innuendo  contained  in  the 
last  words  of  Bernard,  but  taking  the  well-timed  hint, 
refrained  from  expressing  it  more  clearly,  and  gave  his 
hand  to  his  rival  with  every  appearance  of  cordiality. 
And  Virginia,  misconstruing  the  words  of  the  young 
Jesuit,  frankly  extended  her  own  hand,  which  he  pressed 
respectfully  to  his  lips,  and  then  turned  silently  away. 

"  Well,  I  am  delighted,"  said  Virginia  to  her  lover,  when 
they  were  thus  left  alone,  "  that  you  are  at  last  friends  with 
Bernard.  You  see  now  that  I  was  right  and  you  were 
wrong  in  our  estimates  of  his  character." 

"  Indeed  I  do  not,  my  dear  Virginia ;  on  the  contrary, 
this  brief  interview  has  but  confirmed  my  previously  formed 
opinion." 

"  Oh!  that  is  impossible,  Hansford;  you  are  too  suspi- 
cious, indeed  you  are.  I  never  saw  more  refinement  and 
delicacy  blended  with  more  real  candour.  Indeed,  Hans- 
ford,  he  is  a  noble  fellow." 

"I  am  sorry  to  differ  with  you,  dearest;  but  to  my  mind 
his  refinement  is  naught  but  Jesuitical  craft :  his  delicacy  the 
result  of  an  educational  schooling  of  the  lip,  to  conceal  the 
real  feelings  of  his  heart;  and  his  candour  but  the  gilt 
washing  which  appears  like  gold,  but  after  all,  only  hides 
the  baser  metal  beneath  it." 

"  Well,  in  my  life  I  never  heard  such  perversion  I  Really, 
Hansford,  you  will  make  me  think  you  are  jealous." 

"  Jealous,  Virginia,  jealous !"  said  Hansford,  in  a  sorrow- 
ful tone.     "  Alas !  if  I  were  even  capable  of  such  a  feeling, 
what  right  have  I  to  entertain  it  ?     Your  heart  is  free,  and 
torn  from  the  soil  which  once  cherished  it,  may  be  trans- 
20 


230  HANSFORD : 

planted  elsewhere,  while  the  poor  earth  where  once  it  grew 
can  only  hope  now  and  then  to  feel  the  fragrance  which  it 
sheds  on  all  around.  No,  not  jealous,  Virginia,  whatever 
else  I  may  be !" 

"You  speak  too  bitterly,  Hansford;  have  I  not  assured 
you  that  though  a  harsh  fate  may  sever  us ;  though  parental 
authority  may  deny  you  my  hand,  yet  my  heart  is  unalter- 
ably yours.  But  tell  me,  why  it  is  that  you  can  see  nothing 
good  in  this  young  man,  and  persist  in  perverting  every 
sentiment,  every  look,  every  expression  to  his  injury  ?" 

Before  Hansford  could  reply,  the  shrill  voice  of  Mrs. 
Temple  was  heard,  crying  out;  "  Virginia  Temple,  Virginia 
Temple,  why  where  can  the  child  have  got  to  1"— and  at  the 
same  moment  the  old  lady  came  bustling  round  the  house, 
and  discovered  the  unlawful  interview  of  the  lovers. 

Rising  hastily  from  her  seat,  Virginia  advanced  to  her 
mother,  who,  without  giving  her  time  to  speak,  even  had 
she  been  so  inclined,  sang  out  at  the  top  of  her  voice — 
"  Gome  along,  my  daughter.  Here  are  the  guests  in  your 
father's  house  kept  waiting  in  the  porch  to  tell  you  good- 
bye, and  you,  forsooth,  must  be  talking,  tfce  Lord  knows 
what,  to  that  young  scape-gallows  yonder,  who  hasn't 
modesty  enough  to  know  when  and  where  he's  wanted." 

"  Dear  mother,  don't  speak  so  loud,"  whispered  the  poor 
girl. 

"Don't  talk  so  loud,  forsooth — and  why?  They  that 
put  themselves  where  they  are  not  wanted  and  not  asked, 
must  expect  to  hear  ill  of  themselves." 

"  There  comes  my  pretty  Jeanie,"  said  her  old  father, 
as  he  saw  her  approach.  "  And  so  you  found  her  at  last, 
mother.  Come  here,  dearest,  we  have  been  waiting  for 
you." 

The  sweet  tones  of  that  gentle  voice,  which  however 
harsh  at  times  to  others,  were  ever  modulated  to  the  sweet- 
est music  when  he  spoke  to  her,  fell  upon  the  ears  of  the 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'8  REBELLION.          231 

poor  confused  and  mortified  girl,  in  such  comforting 
accents,  that  the  full  heart  could  no  longer  restrain  its 
gushing  feelings,  and  she  burst  into  tears.  With  swollen 
eyes  and  with  a  heavy  heart  she  bade  adieu  to  the  several 
guests,  and  as  Sir  William  Berkeley,  in  the  mistaken  kind- 
ness of  his  heart,  kissed  her  cheek,  and  whispered  that  Ber- 
nard would  soon  return  and  all  would  be  happy  again,  she 
sobbed  as  if  her  gentle  heart  would  break. 

"  I  always  tell  the  Colonel  that  he  ruins  the  child,"  said 
Mrs.  Temple  to  the  Governor,  with  one  of  her  blandest 
smiles,  on  seeing  this  renewed  exhibition  of  sensibility. 
"  It  was  not  so  in  our  day,  Lady  Frances ;  we  had  other 
things  to  think  about  than  crying  and  weeping.  Tears 
were  not  so  shallow  then." 

Lady  Frances  Berkeley  nodded  a  stately  acquiescence  to 
this  tribute  to  the  stoicism  of  the  past,  and  made  some 
sage,  original  and  relevant  reflection,  that  shallow  streams 
ever  were  the  most  noisy — and  then  kissing  the  weeping 
girl,  repeated  the  grateful  assurance  that  Bernard  would 
not  be  long  absent,  and  that  she  herself  would  be  present 
at  the  happy  bridal,  to  taste  the  bride's  cake  and  quaff 
the  knitting  cup,*  with  other  like  consolations  well  calcu- 
lated to  restore  tranquillity  and  happiness  to  the  bosom  of 
the  disconsolate  Virginia. 

And  so  the  unfortunate  Berkeley  commenced  that  fatal 
flight,  which  contributed  so  largely  to  divert  the  arms  of 
the  insurgents  from  the  Indians  to  the  government,  and  to 
change  what  else  might  have  been  a  mere  unauthorized 
attack  upon  the  common  enemies  of  the  country  into  a  pro- 
tracted and  bloody  civil  war. 

Hansford  did  not  long  remain  at  Windsor  Hall,  after  the 
departure  of  the  loyalists.  He  would  indeed  have  been 
wanting  in  astuteness  if  he  had  not  inferred  from  the  direct 

*  A  cup  drunk  at  the  marriage  ceremony  in  honour  of  the  bride. 


232  HANSFORD. 

language  of  Mrs.  Temple  that  he  was  an  unwelcome  visi- 
tant at  the  mansion.  But  more  important,  if  not  more 
cogent  reasons  urged  his  immediate  departure.  He  saw 
at  a  glance  the  fatal  error  committed  by  Berkeley  in  his 
flight  to  Accomac,  and  the  immense  advantage  it  would 
be  to  the  insurgents.  He  wished,  therefore,  without  loss  of 
time  to  communicate  the  welcome  intelligence  to  Bacon 
and  his  followers,  who,  he  knew,  were  anxiously  awaiting 
the  result  of  his  mission. 

Ordering  his  horse,  he  bade  a  cordial  adieu  to  the  good 
old  colonel,  who,  as  he  shook  his  hand,  said,  with  a  tear  in  his 
eye,  "  Oh,  my  boy,  my  boy  !  if  your  head  were  as  near  right 
as  I  believe  your  heart  is,  how  I  would  love  to  welcome 
you  to  my  bosom  as  my  son." 

"  I  hope,  my  kind,  my  noble  friend,"  said  Hansford, 
"  that  the  day  may  yet  come  when  you  will  see  that  I  am 
not  wholly  wrong.  God  knows  I  would  almost  rather  err 
with  you  than  to  be  right  with  any  other  man."  Then 
bidding  a  kind  farewell  to  Mrs.  Temple  and  Yirginia,  to 
which  the  old  lady  responded  with  due  civility,  but  without 
cordiality,  he  vaulted  into  the  saddle  and  rode  off — and  as 
long  as  the  house  was  still  in  view,  he  could  see  the  white 
'kerchief  of  Yirginia  from  the  open  window,  waving  a  last 
fond  adieu  to  her  unhappy  lover. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         233 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

'The  abstract  and  brief  chronicle  of  the  time." 


Hamlet. 


IT  is  not  our  purpose  to  trouble  the  reader  with  a  de- 
tailed account  of  all  the  proceedings  of  the  famous  Rebel- 
lion, which  forms  the  basis  of  our  story.  We,  therefore, 
pass  rapidly  over  the  stirring  incidents  which  immediately 
succeeded  the  flight  of  Sir  William  Berkeley.  Interesting 
as  these  incidents  may  be  to  the  antiquary  or  historian, 
they  have  but  little  to  do  with  the  dramatis  personae  of 
this  faithful  narrative,  in  whose  fate  we  trust  our  readers 
are  somewhat  interested.  Accoinac  is  divided  from  the 
mainland  of  Virginia  by  the  broad  Chesapeake  Bay. 
Although  coatained  in  the  same  grant  which  prescribed 
the  limits  to  the  colony,  and  although  now  considered  a 
part  of  this  ancient  commonwealth,  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  formerly  it  was  considered  in  a  different  light. 
In  one  of  the  earliest  colonial  state  papers  which  has  been 
preserved,  the  petition  of  Morryson,  Ludwell  &  Smith,  for 
a  reformed  charter  for  the  colony,  the  petitioners  are 
Btyled  the  "  agents  for  the  governor,  council  and  burgesses 
of  the  country  of  Virginia  and  territory  of  Accomac;"  and 
although  this  form  of  phraseology  appears  in  but  few  of 
the  records,  yet  it  would  appear  that  the  omission  was  the 
result  of  mere  convenience  in  style-,  just  as  Victoria  is 
more  frequently  styled  the  Queen  of  England,  than  called 
by  her  more  formal  title  of  Queen  of  the  United  King- 
doms of  Great  Britian  and  Ireland,  by  the  Grace  of  God, 
Defender  of  the  Faith.  It  was,  therefore,  not  without 
20* 


234  HANSFORD: 

reason,  that  Nathaniel  Bacon,  glad  at  least  of  a  pretext  for 
advancing  his  designs,  should  have  considered  the  flight  of 
Sir  William  Berkeley  to  Accomac  as  a  virtual  abdication 
of  his  authority,  more  especially  as  it  had  been  ordained 
but  two  years  before  by  the  council  at  Whitehall,  that  the 
governor  should  be  actually  a  resident  of  Virginia,  unless 
when  summoned  by  the  King  to  England  or  elsewhere.  At 
least  it  was  a  sufficient  pretext  for  the  young  insurgent,  who, 
in  the  furtherance  of  his  designs  did  not  seem  to  be  over-scru- 
pulous in  regard  to  the  powers  with  which  he  was  clothed. 
But  twelve  years  afterwards  a  similar  pretext  afforded  by  the 
abdication  of  James  the  Second,  relieved  the  British  govern- 
ment of  one  of  the  most  serious  difficulties  which  has  arisen 
in  her  constitutional  history. 

Without  proceeding  on  his  expedition  against  the  Indians, 
Bacon  had  no  sooner  heard  of  the  abdication  of  the  governor 
than  he  retired  to  the  Middle  Plantation,  the  site  of  the 
present  venerable  city  of  Williamsburg.  Here,  summoning 
a  convention  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  from  all  parts 
of  the  colony,  he  declared  the  government  vacated  by  the 
voluntary  abdication  of  Berkeley,  and  in  his  own  name,  and 
the  name  of  four  members  of  the  council,  proceeded  to  issue 
writs  for  a  meeting  of  the  Assembly.  It  is  but  just  to  the 
memory  of  this  great  man  to  say,  that  this  Assembly,  con- 
vened by  his  will,  and  acting,  as  may  well  be  conceived, 
almost  exclusively  under  his  dictation,  has  left  upon  our 
statute  books  laws  "  the  most  wholesome  and  good,"  for 
the  benefit  of  the  colony,  and  the  most  conducive  to  the 
advancement  of  rational  liberty.  The  rights  of  property 
remained  inviolate — the  reforms  were  moderate  and  judi- 
cious, and  the  government  of  the  colony  proceeded  as 
quietly  and  calmly  after  the  accomplishment  of  the  revolu- 
tion, as  though  Sir  William  Berkeley  were  still  seated  in 
his  palace  as  the  executive  magistrate  of  Virginia.  A 
useful  lesson  did  this  young  colonial  rebel  teach  to  modern 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          235 

reformers  who  would  defame  his  name — the  lesson  that 
reform  does  not  necessarily  imply  total  change,  and  that 
there  is  nothing  with  which  it  is  more  dangerous  to  tamper 
than  long  established  usage.  The  worst  of  all  quacks  are 
those  who  would  administer  their  sovereign  nostrums  to 
the  constitution  of  their  country. 

The  reader  of  history  need  not  be  reminded  that  the 
expedition  of  Bland  and  Carver,  designed  to  surprise  Sir 
William  Berkeley  in  his  new  retreat,  was  completely  frus- 
trated by  the  treachery  of  Larimore,  and  its  unfortunate 
projectors  met,  at  the  hands  of  the  stern  old  Governor,  a 
traitor's  doom.  Thus  the  drooping  hopes  of  the  loyalists 
were  again  revived,  and  taking  advantage  of  this  happy 
change  in  the  condition  of  affairs,  Berkeley  with  his  little 
band  of  faithful  adherents  returned  by  sea  to  Jamestown, 
and  fortified  the  place  to  the  best  of  their  ability  against 
the  attacks  of  the  rebels. 

Nor  were  the  insurgents  unwilling  to  furnish  them  an 
opportunity  for  a  contest.  The  battle  of  Bloody  Run  is 
memorable  in  the  annals  of  the  colony  as  having  forever 
annihilated  the  Indian  power  in  Eastern  Virginia.  Like 
the  characters  in  Bunyan's  sublime  vision,  this  unhappy 
race,  so  long  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  colonists,  had  passed 
away,  and  "they  saw  their  faces  no  more."  But  his  very 
triumph  over  the  savage  enemies  of  his  country,  well  nigh 
proved  the  ruin  of  the  young  insurgent.  Many  of  his  fol- 
lowers, who  had  joined  him  with  a  bona  fide  design  of 
extirpating  the  Indian  power,  now  laid  down  their  arms, 
and  retired  quietly  to  their  several  homes.  Bacon  was 
thus  left  with  only  about  two  hundred  adherents,  to  prose- 
cute the  civil  war  which  the  harsh  and  dissembling  policy  of 
Berkeley  had  invoked  ;  while  the  Governor  was  surrounded 
by  more  than  three  times  that  number,  with  the  entire  navy 
of  Virginia  at  his  command,  and,  moreover,  secure  behind 
the  fortifications  of  Jamestown.  Yet  did  not  the  brave 


236  HANSFORD: 

young  hero  shrink  from  the  contest.  Though  reduced  in  num- 
bers, those  that  remained  were  in  themselves  a  host.  They 
were  all  men  of  more  expanded  views,  and  more  exalted 
conceptions  of  liberty,  than  many  of  the  medley  crew  who 
had  before  attended  him.  They  fought  in  a  holier  cause 
than  when  arrayed  against  the  despised  force  of  their  savage 
foes,  and,  moreover,  they  fought  in  self-defence.  For,  too 
proud  and  generous  to  desert  their  leader  in  his  hour  of 
peril,  each  of  his  adherents  lay  under  the  proscriptive  ban 
of  the  revengeful  Governor,  as  a  rebel  and  a  traitor.  No 
sooner,  therefore,  did  Bacon  hear  of  the  return  of  Berkeley 
to  Jamestown,  than,  with  hasty  marches,  he  proceeded  to 
invest  the  place.  It  is  here,  then,  that  we  resume  the  thread 
of  our  broken  narrative. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

"  When  Liberty  rallies 
Once  more  in  thy  regions,  remember  me  then." 

Byron. 

IT  was  on  a  calm,  clear  morning  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  month  of  September,  that  the  little  army  of  Na- 
thaniel Bacon,  wearied  and  worn  with  protracted  marches, 
and  with  hard  fought  battles,  might  be  seen  winding  through 
the  woodland  district  to  the  north  of  Jamestown.  The 
two  cavaliers,  who  led  the  way  a  little  distance  ahead  of  the 
main  body  of  the  insurgents,  were  Bacon  and  his  favourite 
comrade,  Hansford — engaged,  as  before,  in  an  animated, 
but  now  a  more  earnest  conversation.  The  brow  of  the 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         23f 

young  hero  was  more  overcast  with  care  and  reflection  than 
when  we  last  saw  him.  The  game,  which  he  had  fondly 
hoped  was  over,  had  yet  to  be  played,  and  the  stake  that 
remained  was  far  more  serious  than  any  which  had  yet 
been  risked.  During  the  brief  interval  that  his  undisputed 
power  existed,  the  colony  had  nourished  and  improved,  and 
the  bright  dream  which  he  had  of  her  approaching  delivery 
from  bondage,  seemed  about  to  be  realized.  And  now  it 
was  sad  and  disheartening  to  think  that  the  battle  must 
again  be  fought,  and  with  such  odds  against  him,  that  the 
chances  of  success  were  far  more  remote  than  ever.  But 
Bacon  was  not  the  man  to  reveal  his  feelings,  and  he 
imparted  to  others  the  cheerfulness  which  he  failed  to  feel 
himself.  From  time  to  time  he  would  ride  along  the  bro- 
ken ranks,  revive  their  drooping  spirits,  inspire  them  with 
new  courage,  and  impart  fresh  ardor  into  their  breasts  for 
the  glorious  cause  in  which  they  were  engaged.  Then 
rejoining  Hansford,  he  would  express  to  him  the  fears  and 
apprehensions  which  he  had  so  studiously  concealed  from 
the  rest. 

It  was  on  one  of  these  occasions,  after  deploring  the 
infatuated  devotion  of  so  many  of  the  colonists  to  the 
cause  of  blind  loyalty,  and  the  desertion  of  so  many  on 
whom  he  had  relied  to  co-operate  in  his  enterprize,  that  he 
said,  bitterly : 

"  I  fear  sometimes,  my  friend,  that  we  have  been  too  pre- 
mature in  our  struggle  for  liberty.  Virginia  is  not  yet  ready 
to  be  free.  Her  people  still  hug  the  chains  which  enslave 
them." 

"Alas!"  said  Hansford,  "it  is  too  true  that  we  cannot 
endue  the  infant  in  swaddling  bands  with  the  pride  and 
strength  of  a  giant.  The  child  who  learns  to  walk  must 
meet  with  many  a  fall,  and  the  nation  that  aspires  to  free- 
dom will  often  be  checked  by  disaster  and  threatened  with 
ruin. " 


238  HANSFORD  : 

"And  this  it  is,"  said  Bacon,  sorrowfully,  "that  makes 
me  sick  at  heart.  Each  struggle  to  be  free  sinks  the  chain 
of  the  captive  deeper  into  his  flesh.  And  should  we  fail 
now,  my  friend,  we  but  tighten  the  fetters  that  bind  us." 

"  Think  not  thus  gloomily  on  the  subject,"  replied  Hans- 
ford.  "  Believe  me,  that  you  have  already  done  much  to 
develope  the  germ  of  freedom  in  Virginia.  It  may  be  that 
it  may  not  expand  and  grow  in  our  brief  lives ;  and  even 
though  our  memory  may  pass  away,  and  the  nation  we  have 
served  may  fail  to  call  us  blessed,  yet  they  will  rejoice  in 
the  fruition  of  that  freedom  for  which  we  may  perish. 
Should  the  soldier  repine  because  he  is  allotted  to  lead  a 
forlorn  hope  ?  No  !  there  is  a  pride  and  a  glory  to  know, 
that  his  death  is  the  bridge  over  which  others  will  pass  to 
victory." 

"  God  bless  your  noble  soul,  Hansford,"  said  Bacon,  with 
the  intensest  admiration.  "  It  is  men  like  you  and  not  like 
me  who  are  worthy  to  live  in  future  generations.  Men 
who,  regardless  of  the  risk  or  sacrifice  of  self,  press  onward 
in  the  discharge  of  duty.  Love  of  glory  may  elevate  the 
soul  in  the  hour  of  triumph,  but  love  of  duty,  and  firmness 
resolutely  to  discharge  it,  can  alone  sustain  us  in  the  hour 
of  peril  and  trial." 

This  was  at  last  the  difference  between  the  two  men. 
Intense  desire  for  personal  fame,  united  with  a  subordinate 
love  of  country  impelled  Bacon  in  his  course.  Inflexible 
resolution  to  discharge  a  sacred  duty,  an  entire  abnegation 
of  self  in  its  performance,  and  the  strongest  convictions  of 
right  constituted  the  incentives  to  Hansford.  It  was  this 
that  in  the  hour  of  their  need  sustained  the  heart  of  Hans- 
ford,  while  the  more  selfish  but  noble  heart  of  his  leader 
almost  sank  within  him ;  and  yet  the  effects  upon  the  actions 
of  the  two  were  much  the  same.  The  former,  unswayed  by 
circumstances  however  adverse,  pressed  steadily  and  firmly 
on ;  while  the  latter,  with  the  calmness  of  desperation,  know- 


A  TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  239 

ing  that  safety,  and  (what  was  dearer)  glory,  lay  in  the 
path  of  success,  braced  himself  for  the  struggle  with  more 
than  his  usual  resolution. 

"  But,  alas  1"  continued  Bacon,  in  the  same  melancholy 
tone,  "  if  we  should  fail,  how  hard  to  be  forgotten.  Your 
name  and  memory  to  perish  among  men  forever — your  very 
grave  to  be  neglected  and  uncared  for;  and  this  living, 
breathing  frame,  instinct  with  life,  and  love,  and  glory,  to 
pass  away  and  mingle  with  the  dust  of  the  veriest  worm 
which  crawls  upon  the  earth.  Oh,  God  !  to  be  forgotten, 
to  leave  no  impress  on  the  world  but  what  the  next  flowing 
tide  may  efface  forever.  Think  of  it,  realize  it,  Hansford 
—to  be  forgotten  !" 

"  It  would,  indeed,  be  a  melancholy  thought,"  said  Hans- 
ford,  with  a  deep  sympathy  for  his  friend — "  if  this  were 
all.  But  when  we  remember  that  we  stand  but  on  the 
threshold  of  existence,  and  have  a  higher,  a  holier  destiny  to 
attain  beyond,  we  need  care  but  little  for  what  is  passing 
here.  I  have  sometimes  thought,  my  friend,  that  as  in  man- 
hood we  sometimes  smile  at  the  absurd  frivolities  which 
caught  our  childish  fancy,  so  when  elevated  to  a  higher 
sphere  we  would  sit  and  wonder  at  the  interest  which  we 
took  in  the  trifling  pleasures,  the  empty  honours,  and  the 
glittering  toys  of  this  present  life." 

"  And  do  you  mean  to  say  that  honour  and  glory  are 
nothing  here  ?" 

"  Only  so  far  as  they  reflect  the  honour  and  glory  which 
are  beyond. " 

"Pshaw,  man!"  cried  Bacon,  "you  do  not,  you  cannot 
think  so.  You  ask  me  the  reason  of  this  desire  for  fame 
and  remembrance  when  we  are  dust.  I  tell  you  it  is  an 
instinct  implanted  in  us  by  the  Almighty  to  impel  us  to 
glorious  deeds." 

"Aye,"  said  Hansford,  quietly,  "and  when  that  desire, 
by  our  own  indulgence,  becomes  excessive,  just  as  the  baser 


240  HANSFORD I 

appetites  of  the  glutton  or  the  debauchee,  it  becomes  cor- 
rupt and  tends  to  our  destruction." 

"You  are  a  curious  fellow,  Hansford,"  said  Bacon, 
laughing,  "  and  should  have  been  one  of  old  Noll's  generals 
— for  I  believe  you  can  preach  as  well  as  you  can  fight,  and 
believe  me  that  is  no  slight  commendation.  But  you  must 
excuse  me  if  I  cannot  agree  with  you  in  all  of  your  senti- 
ments. I  am  sorry  to  say  that  old  Butler's  '  pulpit  drum 
ecclesiastic'  seldom  beat  me  to  a  church  parade  while  I  was 
in  England,  and  here  in  Virginia  they  send  us  the  worst 
preachers,  as  they  send  us  the  worst  of  every  thing.  But 
a  truce  to  the  subject.  Tell  me  are  you  a  believer  in  pre- 
sentiments ?" 

"  Surely  such  things  are  possible,  but  I  believe  them  to 
be  rare,"  replied  his  companion.  "  Future  events  certainly 
make  an  impression  upon  the  animal  creation,  and  I  know 
not  why  man  should  be  exempt  entirely  from  a  similar  law. 
The  migratory  birds  will  seek  a  more  southern  clime,  even 
before  a  change  of  weather  is  indicated  by  the  wind,  and  the 
appearance  of  the  albatross,  or  the  bubbling  of  the  porpoise, 
if  we  may  believe  the  sailors'  account,  portend  a  storm." 

"  These  phenomena,"  suggested  Bacon,  "may  easily  be 
explained  by  some  atmospheric  influence,  insensible  to  our 
nature,  but  easily  felt  by  them." 

"I  might  answer,"  replied  Hansford,  "that  if  insensible 
to  us,  we  are  not  warranted  in  presuming  their  existence. 
But  who  can  tell  in  the  subtle  mechanism  of  the  mind  how 
sensitive  it  may  be  to  the  impressions  of  coming  yet  unseen 
events.  At  least,  all  nations  have  believed  in  the  existence 
of  such  an  influence,  and  the  Deity  himself  has  deigned  to 
use  it  through  his  prophets,  in  the  revelation  of  his  pur- 
poses to  man." 

"  Well,  true  or  not,"  said  Bacon,  in  a  low  voice,  "  I  have 
felt  the  effect  of  such  a  presentiment  in  my  own  mind,  and 
although  I  have  tried  to  resist  its  influence  I  have  been 


A  TALE   OF   BACON'S  REBELLION.  241 

unable  to  do  so.  There  is  something  which  whispers  to  me, 
Hansford,  that  I  will  not  see  the  consummation  of  my  hopes 
in  this  colony — and  that  dying  I  shall  leave  behind  me  an 
inglorious  name.  For  what  at  last  is  an  unsuccessful 
patriot  but  a  rebel.  And  oh,  as  I  have  listened  to  the 
monitions  of  this  demon,  it  seemed  as  though  the  veil  of 
futurity  were  raised,  and  I  could  read  my  fate  in  after  years. 
Some  future  chronicler  will  record  this  era  of  Yirginia's 
history,  and  this  struggle  for  freedom  on  the  part  of  her 
patriot  children  will  be  styled  rebellion ;  our  actions  mis- 
represented ;  our  designs  misinterpreted  ;  and  1  the  leader 
and  in  part  the  author  of  the  movement  will  be  handed 
down  with  Wat  Tyler  and  Jack  Cade  to  infamy,  obloquy 
and  reproach." 

"  Think  not  thus  gloomily,"  said  Hansford,  "  the  feelings 
you  describe  are  often  suggested  to  an  excited  imagination 
by  the  circumstances  with  which  it  is  surrounded ;  just  as 
dreams  are  the  run  mad  chroniclers  of  our  daily  thoughts 
and  hopes  and  apprehensions.  You  should  not  yield  to 
them,  General,  they  unman  you  or  at  least  unfit  you  for  the 
duties  which  lie  before  you." 

"  You  are  right,"  returned  Bacon  ;  "  and  I  banish  them 
from  me  forever.  I  have  half  a  mind  to  acknowledge  my- 
self your  convert,  Hansford  ;  eschew  the  gaily  bedizzened 
Glory,  and  engage  your  demure  little  Quaker,  Duty,  as  my 
handmaiden  in  her  place." 

"  I  will  feel  but  too  proud  of  such  a  convert  to  my  creed," 
said  Hansford  laughing.  "  And  now  what  of  your  plans 
on  Jamestown  ?" 

"  Why  to  tell  you  the  truth,"  said  Bacon  gravely ;  "  I 
am  somewhat  at  fault  in  regard  to  my  actions  there.  I 
could  take  the  town  in  a  day,  and  repulse  those  raw  recruits 
of  the  old  Governor  with  ease,  if  they  would  only  sally  out. 
But  I  suspect  the  old  tyrant  will  play  a  safe  game  with  me- — 
and  securely  ensconced  behind  his  walls,  will  cut  my  brave 
21 


242  HANSFORD: 

boys  to  pieces  with  his  •  cannon  before  I  can  make  a  suc- 
cessful breach." 

"  You  could  throw  up  breastworks  for  your  protection," 
suggested  Hansford. 

"  Aye,  but  I  fear  it  would  be  building  a  stable  after  the 
horse  was  stolen.  With  our  small  force  we  could  not 
resist  their  guns  while  we  were  constructing  our  fortifica- 
tions. But  I  will  try  it  by  night,  and  we  may  succeed. 

The  d d  old  traitor — if  he  would  only  meet  me  in  open 

field,  I  could  make  my  way  'through  twenty  times  his 
stop.'" 

"  Well,  we  must  encounter  some  risk,"  replied  Hansford. 
"  I  have  great  hopes  from  the  character  of  his  recruits,  too. 
Though  they  number  much  more  than  ourselves,  yet  they 
serve  without  love,  and  in  the  present  exhausted  exchequer 
of  the  colony,  are  fed  more  by  promises  than  money." 

"  They  are  certainly  not  likely  to  be  fed  by  angels,"  said 
Bacon,  "  as  some  of  the  old  prophets  are  said  to  have 
been.  But,  Hansford,  an  idea  has  just  struck  me,  which  is 
quite  a  new  manoeuvre  in  warfare,  and  from  which  your 
ideas  of  chivalry  will  revolt." 

"  What  is  it  ?"  asked  Hansford  eagerly. 

"  Why  if  it  succeeds,"  returned  Bacon,  "  I  will  warrant 
that  Jamestown  is  in  our  hands  in  twenty-four  hours,  with- 
out the  loss  of  more  blood  than  would  fill  a  quart  canteen." 

"  Bravo,  then,  General,  if  you  add  such  an  important 
principle  to  the  stock  of  military  tactics,  I'll  warrant  that 
whispering  demon  lied,  and  that  you  will  retain  both  Glory 
and  Duty  in  your  service." 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  change  your  note,  Thomas,  when 
I  develope  my  plan.  It  is  simply  this — to  detail  a  party 
of  men  to  scour  the  country  around  Jamestown,  and  collect 
the  good  dames  and  daughters  of  our  loyal  councillors. 
If  we  take  them  with  us,  I'll  promise  to  provide  a  secure 
defence  against  the  enemies'  fire.  The  beseiged  will  dare 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          243 

not  fire  a  gun  so  long  as  there  is  danger  of  striking  their 
wives  and  children,  and  we,  in  the  meantime,  secure  behind 
this  temporary  breastwork,  will  prepare  a  less  objectionable 
defence.  What  think  you  of  the  plan,  Hansford  ?" 

"  Good  God  !"  cried  Hansford,  "  You  are  not  in  earnest 
General  Bacon  ?" 

"  And  why  not  ?"  said  Bacon,  in  reply.  "  If  such  a 
course  be  not  adopted,  at  least  half  of  the  brave  fellows 
behind  us  will  be  slaughtered  like  sheep.  While  no  harm 
can  result  to  the  ladies  themselves,  beyond  the  inconvenience 
of  a  few  hours'  exposure  to  the  night  air,  which  they  should 
willingly  endure  to  preserve  life." 

Hansford  was  silent.  He  knew  how  useless  it  was  to 
oppose  Bacon  when  he  had  once  resolved.  His  chivalrous 
nature  revolted  at  the  idea  of  exposing  refined  and  delicate 
females  to  such  a  trial.  And  yet  he  could  not  deny  that 
the  project  if  successfully  carried  out  would  be  the  means 
of  saving  much  bloodshed,  and  of  ensuring  a  speedy  and 
easy  victory  to  the  insurgents. 

"  Why,  what  are  you  thinking  of,  man, "said  Bacon  gaily. 
"  I  thought  my  project  would  wound  your  delicate  sensi- 
bilities. But  to  my  mind  there  is  more  real  chivalry  and  more 
true  humanity  in  sparing  brave  blood  to  brave  hearts,  than 
in  sacrificing  it  to  a  sickly  regard  for  a  woman's  feelings." 

"  The  time  has  been  when  brave  blood  would  have  leaped 
gushing  from  brave  hearts,"  said  Hansford  proudly,  "to 
protect  woman  from  the  slightest  shadow  of  insult." 

"  Most  true,  my  brave  Chevalier  Bayard,"  said  Bacon,  in 
a  tone  of  unaffected  good  humor,  "  and  shall  again — and 
mine,  believe  me,  will  not  be  more  sluggish  in  such  a  cause 
than  your  own.  But  here  no  insult  is  intended  and  none 
will  be  given.  These  fair  prisoners  shall  be  treated  with 
the  respect  due  to  their  sex  and  station.  My  hand  and 
sword  for  that.  But  the  time  has  been  when  woman  too 
was  willing  to  sacrifice  her  shrinking  delicacy  in  defence  of 


244  HANSFORD : 

her  country.  Wot  ye  how  Rome  was  once  saved  by  the 
noble  intercession  of  the  wife  and  mother  of  Caius  Marcus 
— or  how  the  English  forces  were  beaten  from  the  walls  of 
Orleans  by  the  heroic  Joan,  or  how — " 

"You  need  not  multiply  examples,"  said  Hansford  inter- 
rupting him,  "  to  show  how  women  of  a  noble  nature  have 
uusexed  themselves  to  save  their  country.  Your  illustra- 
tions do  not  apply,  for  they  did  voluntarily  what  the  ladies 
of  Virginia  must  do  upon  compulsion.  But,  sir,  I  have  no 
more  to  say.  If  you  persist  in  this  resolution,  unchivalrous 
as  I  believe  it  to  be,  yet  I  will  try  to  see  my  duty  in  ame- 
liorating the  condition  of  these  unhappy  females  as  far 
as  possible." 

"  And  in  me  you  shall  have  been  a  most  cordial  coad- 
jutor," returned  Bacon.  "  But,  my  dear  fellow,  your  chivalry 
is  too  shallow.  Excuse  me,  if  I  say  that  it  is  all  mere  sen- 
timent without  a  substratum  of  reason.  Now  look  you — 
you  would  willingly  kill  in  battle  the  husbands  of  these 
ladies,  and  thus  inflict  a  life-long  wound  upon  them,  and 
yet  you  refuse  to  pursue  a  course  by  which  lives  may  be 
saved,  because  it  subjects  them  to  a  mere  temporary  incon- 
venience. But  look  again.  Have  you  no  sympathy  left 
for  the  wives,  no  chivalry  for  the  daughters  of  our  own 
brave  followers,  whose  hearts  will  be  saved  full  many  a 
pang  by  a  stratagem,  which  will  ensure  the  safety  of  their 
protectors.  Believe  me,  my  dear  Hansford,  if  chivalry  be 
nought  but  a  mawkish  sentiment,  which  would  throw  away 
the  real  substance  of  good,  to  retain  the  mere  shadow  re- 
flected in  its  mirror,  like  the  poor  dog  in  the  fable — the 
sooner  its  reign  is  over  the  better  for  humanity." 

"But,  General  Bacon,"  said  Hansford,  by  no  means 
convinced  by  the  sophistry  of  his  plausible  leader,  "  if  the 
future  chronicler  of  whom  you  spoke,  should  indeed  write 
the  history  of  this  enterprise,  he  will  record  no  fact  which 
will  reflect  less  honour  upon  your  name,  than  that  you 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          245 

found  a  means  for  your  defence  in  the  persons  of  defenceless 
women." 

"  So  let  it  be,  my  gallant  chevalier,"  replied  Bacon,  gaily, 
determined  not  to  be  put  out  of  humour  by  Hansford's 
grave  remonstrance.  "But  you  have  taught  me  not  to 
look  into  future  records  for  my  name,  or  for  the  vindication 
of  my  course — and  your  demure  damsel  Duty  has  whispered 
that  I  am  in  the  path  of  right.  Look  ye,  Hansford,  don't 
be  angry  with  your  friend ;  for  I  assure  you  on  the  honour 
of  a  gentleman,  that  the  dames  themselves  will  bear  testi- 
mony to  the  chivalry  of  Nathaniel  Bacon.  And  besides, 
my  dear  fellow,  we  will  not  impress  any  but  the  sterner  old 
dames  into  our  service.  You  know  the  older  they  are  the 
better  they  will  serve  for  material  for  an  impregnable 
fortress. " 

So  saying,  Bacon  ordered  a  halt,  and  communicating  to 
his  soldiers  his  singular  design,  he  detailed  Captain  Wil- 
ford  and  a  party  of  a  dozen  men,  selected  on  account  of 
their  high  character,  to  capture  and  bring  into  his  camp 
the  wives  of  certain  of  the  royalists,  who,  though  residing  in 
the  country,  had  rallied  to  the  support  of  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  on  his  return  to  Jamestown.  In  addition  to 
these  who  were  thus  found  in  their  several  homes,  the  de- 
tailed corps  had  intercepted  the  carriage  of  our  old  friend, 
Colonel  Temple ;  for  the  old  loyalist  had  no  sooner  heard 
of  the  return  of  Sir  William  Berkeley,  than  he  hastened  to 
join  him  at  the  metropolis,  leaving  his  wife  and  daughter 
to  follow  him  on  the  succeeding  day.  What  was  the  con- 
sternation and  mortification  of  Thomas  Hansford  as  he  saw 
the  fair  Virginia  Temple  conducted,  weeping,  into  the  rude 
camp  of  the  insurgents,  followed  by  her  high-tempered  old 
mother,  who  to  use  the  chaste  and  classic  simile  of  Tony 
Lumpkin,  "  fidgeted  and  spit  about  like  a  Catherine  wheel" 


21* 


246  HANSFORD I 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

"  It  is  the  cry  of  women,  good,  my  lord." 

Macbeth. 

AGREEABLY  with  the  promise  of  Bacon,  the  captured 
ladies  were  treated  with  a  respect  and  deference  which 
allayed  in  a  great  degree  their  many  apprehensions.  Still 
they  could  not  refrain  from  expressions  of  the  strongest 
indignation  at  an  act  so  unusual,  so  violent,  and  so  entirely 
at  war  with  the  established  notions  of  chivalry  at  the  time. 
As  the  reader  will  readily  conjecture,  our  good  friend,  Mrs. 
Temple,  was  by  no  means  the  most  patient  under  the 
wrongs  she  had  endured,  and  resisting  the  kind  attentions 
of  those  around  her,  she  was  vehement  in  her  denunciations 
of  her  captors,  and  in  her  apprehensions  of  a  thousand 
imaginary  dangers. 

"  Oh  my  God  !"  she  cried,  "  I  know  that  they  intend  to 
murder  us.  To  think  of  leaving  a  quiet  home,  and  being  ex- 
posed to  such  treatment  as  this.  Oh,  my  precious  husband, 
if  he  only  knew  what  a  situation  his  poor  Betsey  was  in  at 
this  moment;  but  never  mind,  as  sure  as  I  am  a  living 
woman,  he  shall  know  it,  and  then  we  will  see." 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Temple,"  said  Mrs.  Ballard,  another  of 
the  captives,  "  do  not  give  way  to  your  feelings  thus.  It  is 
useless,  and  will  only  serve  to  irritate  these  men." 

"Men!  they  are  not  men!"  returned  the  excited  old 
lady,  refusing  to  be  comforted.  "  Men  never  would  have 
treated  ladies  so.  They  are  base,  cruel,  inhuman  wretches, 
and,  as  I  said  before,  if  I  live,  to  get  to  Jamestown,  Colonel 
Temple  shall  know  of  it  too— so  he  shall." 

"  But  reflect,  my  dear  friend,  that  our  present  condition 


A   TALE   OF   BACON'S  REBELLION.  24T 

is  not  affected  by  this  very  natural  resolution  which  you 
have  made,  to  inform  your  husband  of  your  wrongs.  But 
whatever  may  be  the  object  of  these  persons,  I  feel  assured 
that  they  intend  no  personal  injury  to  us." 

"  No  personal  injury,  forsooth  ;  and  have  we  not  sus- 
tained it  already.  Look  at  my  head-tire,  all  done  up  nicely 
just  before  I  left  the  hall,  and  now  scarcely  fit  to  be  seen, 
And  is  it  nothing  to  be  hauled  all  over  the  country  with  a 
party  of  ruffians,  that  I  would  be  ashamed  to  be  caught  in 
company  with  ;  and  who  knows  what  they  intend  ?" 

"  I  admit  with  you,  my  dear  madam,"  said  Mrs.  Ballard, 
"that  such  conduct  is  unmanly  and  inexcusable,  and  I  care 
not  who  hears  me  say  so.  But  still,"  she  added  in  a  low 
voice,  "  we  have  the  authority  of  scripture  to  make  friends 
even  of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness." 

"  Friends  !  I  would  die  first.  I  who  have  been  moving 
in  the  first  circles,  the  wife  of  Colonel  Temple,  who,  if  he 
had  chosen,  might  have  been  the  greatest  in  the  land,  to 
make  friends  with  a  party  of  mean,  sneaking,  cowardly  ruf- 
fians. Never — and  I'll  speak  my  mind  freely  too — they 
shall  see  that  I  have  a  woman's  tongue  in  my  head  and 
know  how  to  resent  these  injuries.  Oh,  for  shame!  and  to 
wear  swords  too,  which  used  to  be  the  badge  of  gentlemen 
and  cavaliers,  who  would  rather  have  died  than  wrong  a 
poor,  weak,  defenceless  woman — much  less  to  rob  and  mur- 
der her." 

"Well,  let  us  hope  for  the  best,  my  friend,"  said  Mrs. 
Ballard ;  "  God  knows  I  feel  as  you  do,  that  we  have  been 
grossly  wronged ;  but  let  us  remember  that  we  are  in  the 
hands  of  a  just  and  merciful  Providence,  who  will  do  with 
us  according  to  his  holy  will." 

"  I  only  know  that  we  are  in  the  hands  of  a  parcel  of 
impious  and  merciless  wretches,"  cried  the  old  lady,  who, 
as  we  have  seen  on  a  former  occasion,  derived  but  little 
comfort  from  the  consolations  of  religion  in  the  hour  of 


248  HANSFORD : 

trial.  "  I  hope  I  have  as  ranch  religion  as  my  fellows,  who 
pretend  to  so  much  more — but  I  should  like  to  know  what 
effect  that  would  have  on  a  band  of  lawless  cut-throats  ?" 

"  He  has  given  us  his  holy  promise,"  said  Virginia,  in  a 
solemn,  yet  hopeful  voice  of  resignation,  "that  though  we 
walk  through  the  valley  and  the  shadow  of  death,  he  will 
be  with  us — his  rod  and  his  staff  will  comfort  us — yea,  he 
prepareth  a  table  for  us  in  the  presence  of  our  enemies,  our 
cup  runneth  over." 

"  Well,  I  reckon  I  know  that  as  well  as  you,  miss ;  but 
it  seems  there  is  but  little  chance  of  having  a  table  pre- 
pared for  us  here,"  retorted  her  mother,  whose  fears  and 
indignation  had  whetted  rather  than  allayed  her  appetite. 
But  I  think  it  is  very  unseemly  in  a  young  girl  to  be  so 
calm  under  such  circumstances.  I  know  that  when  I  was 
your  age,  the  bare  idea  of  submitting  to  such  an  exposure 
as  this  would  have  shocked  me  out  of  my  senses." 

Virginia  could  not  help  thinking,  that  considering  the 
lapse  of  time  since  her  mother  was  a  young  girl,  there  had 
been  marvellously  little  change  wrought  in  her  keen  sensi- 
bility to  exposure ;  for  she  was  already  evidently  "  shocked 
out  of  her  senses."  But  she  refrained  from  expressing 
such  a  dangerous  opinion,  and  replied,  in  a  sad  tone — 

"  And  can  you  think,  my  dearest  mother,  that  I  do  not 
feel  in  all  its  force  our  present  awful  condition  !  But,  alas  I 
what  can  we  do.  As  Mrs.  Ballard  truly  says,  our  best 
course  is  to  endeavour  to  move  the  coarse  sympathies  of 
these  rebels,  and  even-if  they  should  not  relent,  they  will  at 
least  render  our  condition  less  fearful  by  their  forbearance 
and  respect.  Oh,  my  mother  I  my  only  friend  in  this  dark 
hour  of  peril  and  misfortune,  think  not  so  harshly  of  your 
daughter  as  to  suppose  that  she  feels  less  acutely  the  hor- 
rors of  her  situation,  because  she  fails  to  express  her  fears." 
And  so  saying,  the  poor  girl  drew  yet  closer  to  her  mother, 
and  wept  upon  her  bosom. 


A  TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  249 

"  I  meant  not  to  speak  unkindly,  dear  Jeanie,"  said  the 
good-hearted  old  lady,  "  but  you  know,  my  child,  that  when 
my  fears  get  the  better  of  me,  I  am  not  myself.  It  does 
seem  to  me,  that  I  was  born  under  some  unlucky  star. 
Ever  since  I  was  born  the  world  has  been  turning  upside 
down ;  and  God  knows,  I  don't  know  what  I  have  done 
that  it  should  be  so.  But  first,  that  awful  revolution  in 
England,  and  then,  when  we  came  here  to  pass  our  old 
days  in  peace  arid  quiet,  this  infamous  rebellion.  And  yet 
I  must  say,  I  never  knew  any  thing  like  this.  There  was 
at  least  some  show  of  religion  among  the  old  Roundheads, 
and  though  they  were  firm  and  demure  enough,  and  hated 
all  kinds  of  amusement,  and  cruel  enough  too  with  all  their 
psalm  singing,  to  cut  off  their  poor  king's  head,  yet  they 
always  treated  women  with  respect  and  decency.  But, 
indeed,  even  the  rebels  of  the  present  day  are  not  what 
they  used  to  be." 

Virginia  could  scarcely  forbear  smiling,  amid  her  tears, 
at  this  new  application  of  her  mother's  favourite  theory. 
The  conversation  was  here  interrupted  by  the  approach  of 
a  young  officer,  who,  bowing  respectfully  to  the  bevy  of 
captive  ladies,  said  politely,  that  he  was  sorry  to  intrude 
upon  their  presence,  but  that,  as  it  was  time  to  pursue  their 
journey,  he  had  come  to  ask  if  the  ladies  would  partake 
of  some  refreshment  before  their  ride. 

"If  they  could  share  the  rough  fare  of  a  soldier,  it 
would  bestow  a  great  favour  and  honour  upon  him  to 
attend  to  their  wishes ;  and  indeed,  as  it  would  be  several 
hours  before  they  could  reach  Jamestown,  they  would  stand 
in  need  of  some  refreshment,  ere  they  arrived  at  more 
comfortable  quarters." 

"  As  your  unhappy  prisoners,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Ballard, 
with  great  dignity,  "  we  can  scarcely  object  to  a  soldier's 
fare.  Prisoners  have  no  choice  but  to  take  the  food  which 
the  humanity  of  their  jailers  sets  before  them.  Your 


250  HANSFORD  : 

apology  is  therefore  needless,  if  not  insulting  to  our  mis- 
fortunes." 

"Well,  madam,"  returned  Wilford,  in  the  same  respect- 
ful tone,  "  I  did  not  mean  to  offend  you,  and  regret  that  I 
have  done  so  through  mistaken  kindness.  May  I  add  that, 
in  common  with  the  rest  of  the  army,  I  deplore  the  neces- 
sity which  has  compelled  us  to  resort  to  such  harsh  means 
towards  yourselves,  in  order  to  ensure  success  and  safety." 

"  I  deeply  sympathize  with  you  in  your  profound  regret," 
said  Mrs.  Ballard,  ironically.  "  But  pray  tell  me,  sir, 
if  you  learned  this  very  novel  and  chivalric  mode  of  warfare 
from  the  savages  with  whom  you  have  been  contending,  or 
is  it  the  result  of  General  Bacon's  remarkable  military 
genius  ?" 

"  It  is  the  result  of  the  stern  necessity  under  which  we 
rest,  of  coping  with  a  force  far  superior  to  our  own.  And 
I  trust  that  while  your  ladyships  can  suffer  but  little  incon- 
venience from  our  course,  you  will  not  regret  your  own 
cares,  if  thereby  you  might  prevent  an  effusion  of  blood." 

"  Oh,  that  is  it,"  replied  Mrs.  Ballard,  in  the  same  tone 
of  withering  irony.  "  I  confess  that  I  was  dull  enough  to 
believe  that  the  self-constituted,  self-styled  champions  of 
freedom  had  courage  enough  to  battle  for  the  right,  and  not 
to  screen  themselves  from  danger,  as  a  child  will  seek  pro- 
tection behind  its  mother's  apron,  from  the  attack  of  an 
enraged  cow." 

"  Madam,  I  will  not  engage  in  an  encounter  of  wits  with 
you.  I  will  do  you  but  justice  when  I  say  that  few  would 
come  off  victors  in  such  a  contest.  But  I  have  a  message 
from  one  of  our  officers  to  this  young  lady,  I  believe,  which 
I  was  instructed  to  reserve  for  her  private  ear." 

"  There  is  no  need  for  a  confidential  communication," 
said  Virginia  Temple,  "  as  I  have  no  secret  which  I  desire 
to  conceal  from  my  mother  and  these  companions  in  misfor- 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         251 

tune.  If,  therefore,  you  have  aught  to  say  to  me,  you  may 
say  it  here,  or  else  leave  it  unexpressed." 

"As  you  please,  my  fair  young  lady,"  returned  Wilford. 
"  My  message  concerns  you  alone,  but  if  you  do  not  care 
to  conceal  it  from  your  companions,  I  will  deliver  it  in  their 
presence.  Major  Thomas  Hansford  desires  me  to  say,  that 
if  you  would  allow  him  the  honour  of  an  interview  of  a  few 
moments,  he  would  gladly  take  the  opportunity  of  explain- 
ing to  you  the  painful  circumstances  by  which  you  are  sur- 
rounded, in  a  manner  which  he  trusts  may  meet  with  your 
approbation." 

"  Say  to  Major  Thomas  Hansford,"  replied  Virginia, 
proudly,  "that,  as  I  am  his  captive,  I  cannot  prevent  his 
intrusion  into  my  presence.  I  cannot  refuse  to  hear  what 
he  may  have  to  speak.  But  tell  him,  moreover,  that  no 
explanation  can  justify  this  last  base  act,  and  that  no  repa- 
ration can  erase  it  from  my  memory.  Tell  him  that  she 
who  once  honoured  him,  and  loved  him,  as  all  that  was 
noble,  and  generous,  and  chivalric,  now  looks  back  upon 
the  past  as  on  a  troubled  dream  ;  and  that,  in  future,  if  she 
should  hear  his  name,  she  will  remember  him  but  as  one 
who,  cast  in  a  noble  mould,  might  have  been  worthy  of  the 
highest  admiration,  but,  defaced  by  an  indelible  stain,  is 
cast  aside  as  worthy  alike  of  her  indignation  and  con- 
tempt." 

As  the  young  girl  uttered  the  last  fatal  words,  she  sank 
back  into  her  grassy  seat  by  her  mother's  side,  as  though 
exhausted  by  the  effort  she  had  made.  She  had  torn  with 
violent  resolution  from  her  breast  the  image  which  had  so 
long  been  enshrined  there — not  only  as  a  picture  to  be 
loved,  but  as  an  idol  to  be  worshipped — and  though  duty 
had  nerved  and  sustained  her  in  the  effort,  nothing  could 
assuage  the  anguish  it  inflicted  She  did  not  love  him 
then,  but  she  had  loved  him  ;  and  her  heart,  like  the  gloomy 
chamber  where  death  has  been,  seemed  more  desolate  for 


252  HANSFORD : 

the  absence  of  that  which,  though  hideous  to  gaze  upon, 
was  now  gone  forever. 

Young  Wilford  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  scene,  and 
could  not  altogether  conceal  the  emotion  which  it  excited. 
In  a  hurried  and  agitated  voice  he  promised  to  deliver  her 
message  to  Hansford,  and  bowing  again  politely  to  the 
ladies,  he  slowly  withdrew. 

In  a  few  moments  one  of  the  soldiers  came  with  the 
expected  refreshment,  which  certainly  justified  the  descrip- 
tion which  Wilford  had  given.  It  was  both  coarse  and 
plain.  Jerked  venison,  which  had  evidently  been  the  pro- 
perty of  a  stag  with  a  dozen  branches  to  his  horns,  and 
some  dry  and  moulding  biscuit,  completed  the  homely 
repast.  Virginia,  and  most  of  her  companions,  declined 
partaking  of  the  unsavoury  viands,  but  Mrs.  Temple, 
though  bitterly  lamenting  her  hard  fate,  in  dooming  her  to 
such  hard  fare,  worked  vigorously  away  at  the  tough  veni- 
son with  her  two  remaining  molars — asserting  the  while, 
very  positively,  that  no  such  venison  as  that  existed  in  her 
young  days,  though,  to  confess  the  truth,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  evident  age  of  the  deceased  animal,  it  certainly 
did. 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          253 


CHAPTER   XXXY. 

"  Yet,  though  dull  hate  as  duty  should  be  taught, 
I  know  that  thou  wilt  love  me  ;  though  my  name 
Should  be  shut  from  thee,  as  a  spell  still  fraught 
With  desolation, — and  a  broken  claim  j 
Though  the  grave  closed  between  us,  'twere  the  same." 

Childe  Harold. 

THE  daylight  had  entirely  disappeared,  and  the  broad 
disc  of  the  full  September  moon  was  just  appearing  above 
the  eastern  horizon,  when  Bacon  and  his  followers  resumed 
their  march.  Each  of  the  captive  ladies  was  placed  upon 
a  horse,  behind  one  of  the  officers,  whose  heavy  riding  cloak 
was  firmly  girt  to  the  horse's  back,  to  provide  a  more  com- 
fortable seat.  Thus  advancing,  at  a  constant,  but  slow 
pace,  to  accommodate  the  wearied  soldiers,  they  pursued 
their  onward  course  toward  Jamestown.  It  was  Bacon's 
object  to  arrive  before  the  town  as  early  as  possible  in  the 
night,  so  as  to  secure  the  completion  of  their  intrenchments 
and  breastworks  before  the  morning,  when  he  intended  to 
commence  the  siege.  And  now,  as  they  are  lighted  on 
their  way  by  the  soft  rays  of  the  autumnal  moon,  let  us  hear 
the  conversation  which  was  passing  between  one  of  the 
cavaliers  and  his  fair  companion,  as  they  rode  slowly  along 
at  some  distance  from  the  rest. 

We  may  well  suppose  that  Thomas  Hansford,  forced  thus 
reluctantly  to  engage  in  a  policy  from  which  his  very  soul 
revolted,  would  not  commit  the  charge  of  Virginia's  person 
to  another.  She,  at  least,  should  learn,  that  though  so 
brutally  impressed  into  the  service  of  the  rebel  army,  there 
was  an  arm  there  to  shield  her  from  danger  and  protect  her 
22 


254  HANSFORD : 

from  rudeness  or  abuse.  She,  at  least,  should  learn  that 
there  was  one  heart  there,  however  despised  and  spurned 
by  others,  which  beat  in  its  every  throb  for  her  safety  and 
happiness. 

Riding,  as  we  have  said,  a  little  slower  than  the  rest,  so 
as  to  be  a  little  out  of  hearing,  he  said,  in  a  low  voice, 
tremulous  with  half  suppressed  emotion,  "Miss  Temple 
cannot  be  ignorant  of  who  her  companion  is  ?" 

"  Your  voice  assures  me,"  replied  Virginia,  "  that  my 
conjecture  is  right,  and  that  I  am  in  the  presence  of  one 
who  was  once  an  honoured  friend.  But  had  your  voice 
and  form  changed  as  entirely  as  your  heart,  I  could  never 
have  recognized  in  the  rebel  who  scruples  not  to  insult  a 
defenceless  woman,  the  once  gallant  and  chivalrous  Hans- 
ford." 

"  And  do  you,  can  you  believe  that  my  heart  has  indeed 
so  thoroughly  changed  ?" 

"  I  would  fain  believe  so,  else  I  am  forced  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  I  have,  all  my  life,  been  deceived  in  a  character 
which  I  deemed  worthy  of  my  love,  while  it  was  only  the 
more  black  because  it  was  hypocritical. " 

"  Virginia, "  said  Hansford,  with  desperation,  "you  shall 
not  talk  thus  ;  you  shall  not  think  thus  of  me." 

"  As  my  captor  and  jailer,"  returned  the  brave  hearted 
young  maiden,  "  Mr.  Hansford  may,  probably,  by  force, 
control  the  expression  of  my  opinions — but  thank  God  ! 
not  even  you  can  control  my  thoughts.  The  mind,  at  least, 
is  free,  though  the  body  be  enslaved." 

"  Nay,  do  not  mistake  my  meaning,  dear  Virginia,"  said 
her  lover.  "  But  alas  !  I  am  the  victim  of  misconstruction. 
Could  you,  for  a  moment,  believe  that  I  was  capable  of  an 
act  which  you  have  justly  described  as  unmanly  and 
unchivalrous  ?" 

"  What  other  opinion  can  I  have  ?"  said  Virginia.  "  I 
find  you  acting  with  those  who  are  guilty  of  an  act  as 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          255 

cowardly  as  it  is  cruel.  I  find  you  tacitly  acquiescing  in 
their  measures,  and  aiding  in  guarding  and  conducting 
their  unhappy  captives — and  I  received  from  you  a  mes- 
sage in  which  you  pretend  to  say  that  you  can  justify  that 
which  is  at  once  inexcusable  before  heaven,  and  in  the  court 
of  man's  honour.  Forgive  me,  if  I  am  unable  to  separate 
the  innocent  from  the  guilty,  and  if  I  fail  to  see  that  your 
conduct  is  more  noble  in  this  attempt  to  shift  the  conse- 
quences of  your  crime  upon  your  confederates," 

"Now,  by  Heaven,  you  wrong  me  !"  returned  Hansford. 
"  My  message  to  you  was  mistaken  by  Captain  Wilford. 
I  never  said  I  could  justify  your  capture  ;  I  charged  him 
to  tell  you  I  could  justify  myself.  And  as  for  my  being 
found  with  those  who  have  committed  this  unmanly  act,  as 
well  might  you  be  deemed  a  participator  in  their  actions 
now,  because  of  your  presence  here.  I  remonstrated,  I 
protested  against  such  a  course — and  when  at  last  adopted 
I  denounced  it  as  unworthy  of  men,  and  far  more  unworthy 
of  soldiers  and  freemen." 

"  And  yet,  when  overwhelmed  by  the  voices  of  others, 
you  quietly  acquiesce,  and  remain  in  companionship  with 
those  whose  conduct  you  had  denounced." 

"  What  else  could  I  do  ?"  urged  Hansford.  "  My  feeble 
arm  could  not  resist  the  action  of  two  hundred-  men  ;  and 
it  only  remained  for  me  to  continue  here,  that  I  might  secure 
the  safety  and  kind  treatment  of  those  who  were  the  vic- 
tims of  this  rude  violence.  Alas  1  how  little  did  I  think 
that  so  soon  you  would  be  one  of  those  unhappy  victims, 
and  that  my  heart  would  deplore,  for  its  own  sake,  a  course 
from  which  my  judgment  and  better  nature  already  re- 
volted." 

The  scales  fell  from  Virginia's  eyes.  She  now  saw  clearly 
the  bitter  trial  through  which  her  lover  had  been  called  to 
pass,  and  recognized  once  more  the  generous,  self-denying 
nature  of  Hansford.  The  stain  upon  his  pure  fame,  to  use 


256  HANSFORD: 

her  own  figure,  was  but  the  effect  of  the  false  and  deceptive 
lens  through  which  she  had  looked,  and  now  that  she  saw 
clearly,  it  was  restored  to  its  original  purity  and  beauty. 

"And  is  this  true,  indeed  ?"  she  said,  in  a  happy  voice. 
"  Believe  me,  Hansford,  the  relief  which  I  feel  at  this  mo- 
ment more  than  compensates  for  all  that  I  have  endured. 
The  renewed  assurance  of  your  honour  atones  for  all.  Can 
you  forgive  me  for  harbouring  for  a  moment  a  suspicion 
that  you  were  aught  but  the  soul  of  honour  ?" 

"  Forgive  you,  dearest  ?"  returned  Hansford.  "  Most 
freely — most  fully  !  But  scarcely  can  I  forgive  those  who 
have  so  wronged  you.  Cast  in  a  common  lot  with  them, 
and  struggling  for  a  common  cause,  I  cannot  now  withdraw 
from  their  association  ;  and  indeed,  Virginia,  I  will  be 
candid,  and  tell  you  freely  that  I  would  not  if  I  could." 

"Alas  !"  said  Virginia,  "and  what  can  be  the  result  of 
your  efforts.  Sooner  or  later  aid  must  come  from  England, 
and  crush  a  rebellion  whose  success  has  only  been  epheme- 
ral. And  what  else  can  be  expected  or  desired,  since  we 
have  already  seen  how  lost  to  honour  are  those  by  whom  it 
is  attempted.  Would  you  wish,  if  you  could,  to  subject 
your  country  to  the  sway  of  men,  who,  impelled  only  by 
their  own  reckless  passions,  disregard  alike  the  honour  due 
from  man  and  the  respect  due  to  woman  ?" 

"You  mistake  the  character  of  these  brave  men,  Vir- 
ginia. I  believe  sincerely  that  General  Bacon  was  prompted 
to  this  policy  by  a  real  desire  to  prevent  the  unnecessary 
loss  of  life  ;  and  though  this  humanity  cannot  entirely 
screen  his  conduct  from  reprehension,  yet  it  may  cast  a  veil 
over  it.  Bold  and  reckless  though  he  be,  his  powerful  mind 
is  swayed  by  many  noble  feelings ;  and  although  he  may 
commit  errors,  they  nearly  lose  their  grossness  in  his 
ardent  love  of  freedom,  and  his  exalted  contempt  of 
danger." 

"  His  love  of  freedom,  I  presume,  is  illustrated  by  his 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          257 

forcible  capture  of  unprotected  females,"  returned  Vir- 
ginia ;  "  and  his  contempt  of  danger,  by  his  desire  to 
interpose  his  captives  between  himself  and  the  guns  of  his 
enemies." 

"  I  have  told  you,"  said  Hansford,  "  that  this  conduct  is 
incapable  of  being  justified,  and  in  this  I  grant  that  Bacon 
has  grievously  erred." 

"  Then  why  continue  to  unite  your  fortunes  to  a  man 
whose  errors  are  so  gross  and  disgraceful,  and  whose  cul- 
pable actions  endanger  your  own  reputation  with  your  best 
friends  ?" 

"  Because,"  said  Hansford,  proudly,  "we  are  engaged  in 
a  cause,  in  the  full  accomplishment  of  which  the  faults  and 
errors  of  its  champion  will  be  forgotten,  and  ransomed 
humanity  will  learn  to  bless  his  name,  scarcely  less  bright 
for  the  imperfections  on  its  disc." 

"  Your  reasoning  reminds  me,"  said  Virginia,  "  of  the 
heretical  sect  of  Cainites,  of  whom  my  father  once  told  me, 
who  exalted  even  Judas  to  a  hero,  because  by  his  treason 
redemption  was  effected  for  the  world." 

"Well,  my  dear  girl,"  replied  Hansford,  "you  maintain 
your  position  most  successfully.  But  since  you  quote  from 
the  history  of  the  Church,  I  will  illustrate  my  position 
after  the  manner  of  a  sage  old  oracle  of  the  law.  Sir 
Edward  Coke  once  alluded  to  the  fable,  that  there  was  not 
a  bird  that  flitted  through  the  air,  but  contributed  by  its  do- 
nations to  complete  the  eagle's  nest.  And  so  liberty,  whose 
fittest  emblem  is  the  eagle,  has  its  home  provided  and  fur- 
nished by  many  who  are  unworthy  to  enjoy  the  home  which 
they  have  aided  in  preparing.  Admit  even,  if  you  please, 
that  General  Bacon  is  one  of  these  unclean  birds,  we  can- 
not refuse  the  contribution  which  he  brings  in  aid  of  the 
glorious  cause  which  we  maintain." 

"  Aye,  but  he  is  like,  with  his  vaulting  ambition,  to  be 
the  eagle  himself,"  returned  Virginia;  "and  to  say  truth, 
22* 


258  HANSFORD : 

although  I  have  great  confidence  in  your  protection,  I  feel 
like  a  lone  dove  in  his  talons,  and  would  wish  for  a  safer 
home  than  in  his  eyrie." 

"You  need  fear  no  danger,  be  assured,  dearest  Virginia," 
said  Hansford,  "  either  for  yourself  or  your  mother.  It  is 
a  part  of  his  plan  to  send  ojie  of  the  ladies  under  our 
charge  into  the  city,  to  apprise  the  garrison  of  our  strange 
manoeuvre^  and  I  have  already  his  word,  that  your  mother 
and  yourself  will  be  the  bearers  of  this  message.  In  a  few 
moments,  therefore,  your  dangers  will  be  past,  and  you  will 
once  more  be  in  the  arms  of  your  noble  old  father." 

"  Oh  thanks,  thanks,  my  generous  protector,"  cried  the 
girl,  transported  at  this  new  prospect  of  her  freedom.  "  I 
can  never  forget  your  kindness,  nor  cease  to  regret  that  I 
could  ever  have  had  a  doubt  of  your  honour  and  integrity." 

"  Oh  forget  that,"  returned  Hansford,  "  or  remember  it 
only  that  you  may  acknowledge  that  it  is  often  better  to 
bear  with  the  circumstances  which  we  cannot  control,  than 
by  hasty  opposition  to  lose  the  little  influence  we  may  pos- 
sess with  those  in  power.  But  see  the  moonlight  reflected 
from  the  steeple  of  yonder  church.  We  are  within  sight  of 
Jamestown,  and  you  will  be  soon  at  liberty.  And  oh !  Vir- 
ginia," he  said  sorrowfully,  "if  it  should  be  decreed  in  the 
book  of  fate,  that  when  we  part  to-night  we  part  forever, 
and  if  the  name  of  Hansford  be  defamed  and  vilified,  you 
at  least,  I  know,  will  rescue  his  honour  from  reproach — 
and  one  tear  from  my  faithful  Virginia,  shed  upon  a  pa- 
triot's grave,  will  atone  for  all  the  infamy  which  indignant 
vengeance  may  heap  upon  my  name." 

So  saying,  he  spurred  his  horse  rapidly  onward,  until  he 
overtook  Bacon,  who,  with  the  precious  burden  under  his 
care,  as  usual,  led  the  way.  And  a  precious  burden  it 
might  well  be  called,  for  by  the  light  of  the  moon  the 
reader  could  hfcve  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  in  the  com- 
panion of  the  young  general  of  the  insurgents,  our  old 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          259 

acquaintance,  Mrs.  Temple.  In  the  earlier  part  of  their 
journey  she  had  by  no  means  contributed  to  the  special 
comfort  of  her  escort — now,  complaining  bitterly  of  the 
roughness  of  the  road,  she  would  grasp  him  around  the 
waist  with  both  arms,  until  he  was  in  imminent  peril  of 
falling  from  his  horse,  and  then  when  pacified  by  a 
smoother  path  and  an  easier  gait,  she  would  burst  forth 
in  a  torrent  of  invective  against  the  cowardly  rebels  who 
would  misuse  a  poor  old  woman  so.  Bacon,  however, 
while  alike  regardless  of  her  complaints  of  the  road,  the 
horse,  or  himself,  did  all  in  his  power  to  mollify  the  old 
lady,  by  humouring  her  prejudices  as  well  as  he  could  ;  and 
when  he  at  last  informed  her  of  the  plan  by  which  she  and 
her  daughter  would  so  soon  regain  their  liberty,  her  temper 
relaxed,  and  she  became  highly  communicative.  She  was, 
indeed,  deep  in  a  description  of  some  early  scenes  of  her 
life,  and  was  telling  how  she  had  once  seen  the  bonnie 
young  Charley  with  her  own  eyes,  when  he  was  hiding 
from  the  pursuit  of  the  Roundheads,  and  how  he  com- 
mended her  loyalty,  and  above  all  her  looks ;  and  promised 
when  he  came  to  his  own  to  bestow  a  peerage  on  her  hus- 
band for  his  faithful  adherence  to  the  cause  of  his  king. 
The  narrative  had  already  lasted  an  hour  or  more  when 
Hansford  and  Virginia  rode  up  and  arrested  the  conversa- 
tion, much  to  the  relief  of  Bacon,  who  was  gravely  debating 
in  his  own  mind  whether  it  was  more  agreeable  to  hear  the 
good  dame's  long-winded  stories  about  past  loyalty,  or  to 
submit  to  her  vehement  imprecations  on  present  rebellion. 

The  young  general  saluted  Virginia  courteously  as  she 
approached,  expressing  the  hope  that  she  had  not  suffered 
from  her  exposure  to  the  night  air,  and  then  turned  to 
Hansford,  and  engaged  in  conversation  with  him  on  mat- 
ters of  interest  connected  with  the  approaching  contest. 

But  as  his  remarks  will  be  more  fully  understood,  and 
his  views  developed  in  the  next  chapter,  we  forbear  to  re- 


260  HANSFORD: 

cord  them  here.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  among  other  things 
it  was  determined,  that  immediately  upon  their  arrival  before 
Jamestown,  Mrs.  Temple  and  Virginia,  under  the  escort  of 
Hansford,  should  be  conducted  to  the  gate  of  the  town,  and 
convey  to  the  Governor  and  his  adherents  the  intelligence 
of  the  capture  of  the  wives  of  the  loyalists.  We  will  only 
so  far  anticipate  the  regular  course  of  our  narrative  as  to 
say,  that  this  duty  was  performed  without  being  attended 
with  any  incident  worthy  of  special  remark ;  and  that  Hans- 
ford,  bidding  a  sad  farewell  to  Virginia  and  her  mother, 
committed  them  to  the  care  of  the  sentinel  at  the  gate,  and 
returned  slowly  and  sorrowfully  to  the  insurgent  camp. 


CHAPTER   XXXYL 

"  How  yet  resolves  the  Governor  of  the  town  ? 

This  is  the  latest  parle  we  will  admit. 

If  I  begin  the  battery  once  again, 

I  will  not  leave  the  half  achieved  Harfleur, 

Till  in  her  ashes  she  lie  buried." 

King  Henry  F. 

AND  now  was  heard  on  the  clear  night  air  the  shrill  blast 
of  a  solitary  trumpet  breathing  defiance,  and  announcing 
to  the  besieged  loyalists,  the  presence  of  the  insurgents  be- 
fore the  walls  of  Jamestown.  Exhausted  by  their  long 
march,  and  depressed  by  the  still  gloomy  prospect  before 
them,  the  thinned  ranks  of  the  rebel  army  required  all  the 
encouraging  eloquence  of  their  general,  to  urge  them  for- 
ward in  their  perilous  duty.  Nor  did  they  need  it  long. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          261 

Drawing  his  wearied,  but  faithful  followers  around  him,  the 
young  and  ardent  enthusiast  addressed  them  in  language 
like  the  following : 

"  SOLDIERS," 

"Animated  by  a  desire  to  free  your  country  from  the 
incursions  of  a  savage  foe,  you  have  crowned  your  arms 
with  victory  and  your  lives  with  honor.  You  have  anni- 
hilated the  Indian  power  in  Virginia,  and  in  the  waters  of 
the  brook  which  was  the  witness  of  your  victory,  you  have 
washed  away  the  stains  of  its  cruelty.  The  purple  blood 
which  dyed  that  fatal  stream,  has  even  now  passed  away ; 
Yet  your  deeds  shall  survive  in  the  name  which  you  have 
given  it.  And  future  generations,  when  they  look  upon  its 
calm  and  unstained  bosom,  will  remember  with  grateful 
hearts,  those  brave  men  who  have  given  security  to  their 
homes,  and  will  bless  your  patriot  names  when  they  repeat 
the  story  of  Bloody  Run. 

"  For  this  you  have  been  proclaimed  traitors  to  your 
country  and  rebels  to  your  king.  Traitors  to  a  country 
within  whose  borders  the  Indian  war  whoop  has  been  hushed 
by  your  exertions !  Rebels  to  your  king  for  preserving 
Virginia,  the  brightest  jewel  in  his  crown,  from  inevitable 
ruin  !  But  though  you  have  accomplished  much,  much  yet 
remains  undone.  Then  nerve  your  stout  hearts  and  gird 
on  your  armour  once  more  for  the  contest.  Though  your 
enemies  are  not  to  be  despised,  they  are  not  to  be  feared. 
They  fight  as  mercenaries  uninspired  by  the  cause  which 
they  have  espoused.  You  battle  for  freedom,  for  honor 
and  for  life.  Your  freedom  is  threatened  by  the  oppressions 
of  a  relentless  tyrant  and  a  subservient  Assembly.  Your 
honor  is  assailed,  for  you  are  publicly  branded  as  traitors. 
Your  lives  are  proscribed  by  those  who  have  basely  charged 
your  patriotism  as  treason,  and  your  defence  of  your  country 
as  rebellion.  Be  not  dismayed  with  the  numbers  of  your 


262  HANSFORD : 

foes.  Think  only  that  it  is  yours  to  lessen  them.  Remember 
that  Peace  can  never  come  to  you,  though  you  woo  it  never 
so  sweetly.  You  must  go  to  it,  even  though  your  way  thither 
lay  through  a  sea  of  blood.  You  will  find  me  ever  where 
danger  is  thickest.  I  will  share  your  peril  now  and  your 
reward  hereafter." 

Inspired  with  new  ardour,  by  the  words  and  still  more  by 
the  example  of  their  leader,  the  soldiers  proceeded  to  the 
task  of  constructing  a  breastwork  for  their  defence.  Bacon 
himself  at  imminent  risk  to  his  person,  drew  with  his  own 
hands  the  line  for  the  entrenchment,  while  the  soldiers  pre- 
pared for  themselves  a  secure  defence  from  attack  by  a 
breastwork  composed  of  felled  trees,  earth,  and  brushwood. 
It  was  a  noble  sight,  I  ween,  to  see  these  hardy  patriots 
of  the  olden  time,  nearly  sinking  under  fatigue,  yet  working 
cheerfully  and  ardently  in  the  cause  of  freedom — to  hear 
their  axes  ringing  merrily  through  the  still  night  air,  and 
the  tall  forest  trees  falling  with  a  heavy  crash,  as  they  were 
preparing  their  rude  fortifications ;  and  to  look  up  on  the 
cold,  silent  moon,  as  she  watched  them  from  her  high  path 
in  heaven,  and  you  might  almost  think,  smiled  with  cold 
disdain,  to  think  that  all  their  hopes  would  be  blasted,  and 
their  ardour  checked  by  defeat,  while  she  in  Tier  pride  of 
fulness  would  traverse  that  same  high  arch  twelve  hundred 
times  before  the  day-star  of  freedom  dawned  upon  the  land. 

Meantime  the  besieged  loyalists  having  heard  with  sur- 
prise and  consternation,  the  story  of  Mrs.  Temple  and  Vir- 
ginia, were  completely  confounded.  Fearing  to  fire  a  single 
gun,  lest  the  ball  intended  for  their  adversaries  might 
pierce  the  heart  of  some  innocent  woman,  they  were  forced 
to  await  with  impatience  the  completion  of  the  works  of 
the  insurgents.  The  latter  had  not  the  same  reason  for 
forbearance,  and  made  several  successful  sorties  upon  the 
palisades,  which  surrounded  the  town,  effecting  several 
breaches,  and  killing  some  men,  but  without  loss  to  any 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.         263 

their  own  party.  Furious  at  the  successful  stratagems  of 
the  rebels  and  fearing  an  accession  to  their  number  from 
the  surrounding  country,  Sir  William  Berkeley  at  length 
determined  to  make  a  sally  from  the  town,  and  test  the 
strength  and  courage  of  his  adversaries  in  an  open  field. 
Bacon,  meanwhile,  having  effected  his  object  in  securing  a 
sufficient  fortification,  with  much  courtesy  dismissed  the 
captive  ladies,  who  went,  rejoicing  at  their  liberation,  to 
tell  the  story  of  their  wrongs  to  their  loyal  husbands. 

The  garrison  of  Jamestown  consisting  of  about  twenty 
cavalier  loyalists,  and  eight  hundred  raw,  undisciplined 
recruits,  picked  up  by  Berkeley  during  his  stay  in  Accomac, 
were  led  on  firmly  towards  the  entrenchments  of  the  rebels, 
by  Beverley  and  Ludwell,  who  stood  high  in  the  confidence 
of  the  Governor,  and  in  the  esteem  of  the  colony,  as  brave 
and  chivalrous  men.  Among  the  subordinate  officers  in 
the  garrison  was  Alfred  Bernard,  rejoicing  in  the  commis- 
sion of  captain,  but  recently  conferred,  and  burning  to  dis- 
tinguish himself  in  a  contest  against  the  rebels.  From 
their  posts  behind  the  entrenchment,  the  insurgents  calmly 
watched  the  approach  of  their  foes.  Undismayed  by  their 
numbers,  nearly  four  times  as  great  as  their  own,  they 
awaited  patiently  the  signal  of  their  general  to  begin  the 
attack.  Bacon,  on  his  part,  with  all  the  ardour  of  his 
nature,  possessed  in  an  equal  degree  the  coolness  and  pru- 
dence of  a  great  general,  and  was  determined  not  to  risk  a 
fire,  until  the  enemy  was  sufficiently  near  to  ensure  heavy 
execution.  When  at  length  the  front  line  of  the  assail- 
ants advanced  within  sixty  yards  of  the  entrenchment, 
he  gave  the  word,  which  was  obeyed  with  tremendous  effect, 
and  then  without  leaving  their  posts,  they  prepared  to 
renew  their  fire.  But  it  was  not  necessary.  Despite  the 
exhortations  and  prayers  of  their  gallant  officers,  the  royal 
army,  dismayed  at  the  first  fire  of  the  enemy,  broke  ranks 
and  retreated,  leaving  their  drum  and  their  dead  upon  the 


264  HANSFORD  : 

field.  In  vain  did  Ludwell  exhort  them,  in  the  name  of  the 
king,  to  return  to  the  assault ;  in  vain  did  the  brave  Bev- 
erley  implore  them  as  Virginians  and  Englishmen  not  to 
desert  their  colors;  in  vain  did  Alfred  Bernard  conjure 
them  to  retrieve  the  character  of  soldiers  and  of  men,  and 
to  avenge  the  cause  of  wronged  and  insulted  women  upon 
the  cowardly  oppressors.  Regardless  alike  of  king,  country 
or  the  laws  of  gallantry,  the  soldiers  ran  like  frightened 
sheep,  from  their  pursuers,  nor  stopped  in  their  flight  until 
once  more  safely  ensconced  behind  their  batteries,  and 
under  the  protection  of  the  cannon  from  the  ships.  The 
brave  cavaliers  looked  aghast  at  this  cowardly  defection,  and 
stood  for  a  moment  irresolute,  with  the  guns  of  the  insur- 
gents bearing  directly  upon  them.  Bacon  could  easily 
have  fired  upon  them  with  certain  effect,  but  with  the  mag- 
nanimity of  a  brave  man,  he  was  struck  with  admiration  for 
their  dauntless  courage,  and  with  pity  for  their  helplessness. 
Nor  was  he  by  any  means  anxious  to  pursue  them,  for  he 
feared  lest  a  victory  so  easily  won,  might  be  a  stratagem  of 
the  enemy,  and  that  by  venturing  to  pursue,  he  might  fall 
into  an  ambuscade.  Contenting  himself,  therefore,  with 
the  advantage  he  had  already  gained,  he  remained  behind 
his  entrenchment,  determined  to  wait  patiently  for  the 
morrow,  before  he  commenced  another  attack  upon  the 
town. 


A   TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  2t>5 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

"  Let's  leave  this  town  ;  for  they  are  hairbrained  slaves, 
And  hunger  will  enforce  them  to  be  more  eager. 
Of  old  I  know  them  j  rather  with  their  teeth 
The  walls  they'll  tear  down,  than  forsake  the  siege." 

King  Henry  VT. 

IT  was  very  late,  but  there  were  few  in  Jamestown  on 
that  last  night  of  its  existence  that  cared  to  sleep.  Those 
who  were  riot  kept  awake  by  the  cares  of  state  or  military 
duties,  were  yet  suffering  from  an  intense  apprehension, 
which  denied  them  repose.-  There  was  "  hurrying  to  and 
fro,"  along  .Stuart  street,  and  "  whispering  with  white 
lips,"  among  the  thronging  citizens.  Ever  siding  with  the 
stronger  party,  and  inclined  to  attribute  to  the  besieged 
Governor  the  whole  catalogue  of  evils  under  which  the 
colony  was  groaning,  many  of  the  lower  classes  of  the 
citizens  expressed  their  sympathy  with  Nathaniel  Bacon, 
and  only  awaited  a  secret  opportunity  to  desert  to  his 
ranks.  A  conspiracy  was  ripening  among  the  soldiery  to 
open  the  gates  to  the  insurgents,  and  surrender  at  once  the 
town  and  the  Governor  into  their  hands— but  over-awed  by 
the  resolute  boldness  of  their  leader,  and  wanting  in  the 
strength  of  will  to  act  for  themselves,  they  found  it  difficult 
to  carry  their  plan  into  execution. 

Sir  William  Berkeley,  with  a  few  of  his  steady  adherents 
and  faithful  friends,  was  anxiously  awaiting,  in  the  large 
hall  of  the  palace,  the  tidings  of  the  recent  sally  upon  the 
besiegers.  Notwithstanding  the  superior  numbers  of  his 
men,  he  had  but  little  confidence  either  in  their  loyalty  or 
courage,  while  he  was  fully  conscious  of  the  desperate 
23 


266  HANBFORD : 

bravery  of  the  insurgents.  While  hope  whispered  that  the 
little  band  of  rebels  must  yield  to  the  overwhelming  force 
of  the  garrison,  fear  interposed,  to  warn  him  of  the  danger 
of  defection  and  cowardice  in  his  ranks.  As  thus  he  sat 
anxiously  endeavouring  to  guess  the  probable  result  of  his 
sally,  heavy  footsteps  were  heard  ascending  the  stairs. 
The  heart  of  the  old  Governor  beat  thick  with  apprehen- 
sion, and  the  damp  drops  wrung  from  him  by  anxiety  and 
care,  stood  in  cold  beads  upon  his  brow. 

"  What  news  ?"  he  cried,  in  a  hoarse,  agitated  voice,  as 
Colonel  Ludwell,  Robert  Beverley,  and  Alfred  Bernard 
entered  the  room.  "  But  I  read  it  in  your  countenances  I 
All  is  lost  I" 

"Yes,  Governor  Berkeley,"  said  Philip  Ludwell,  "  all  is 
lost  I  we  have  not  even  the  melancholy  consolation  of 
Francis,  'that  our  honour  is  preserved.'  The  cowardly 
hinds  who  followed  us,  fled  from  the  first  charge  of  the 
rebels,  like  frightened  hares.  All  attempts  to  rally  them 
were  in  vain,  and  many  of  them  we  understand  have  joined 
with  the  rebels." 

As  the  fatal  tidings  fell  upon  his  ear,  Berkeley  pressed 
his  hand  to  his  forehead,  and  sobbed  aloud.  The  heart  of 
the  brave  old  loyalist  could  bear  no  more — and  all  the 
haughty  dignity  of  his  nature  gave  way  in  a  flood  of  bitter 
tears.  But  the  effect  was  only  transient,  and  nerving  him- 
self, he  controlled  his  feelings  once  more  by  the  energy  of 
his  iron  will. 

"  How  many  still  remain  with  us  ?"  he  asked,  anxiously, 
of  Ludwell. 

"Alas!  sir,  if  the  rumour  which  we  heard  as  we  came 
hither  be  true — none,  absolutely  none.  There  was  an 
immense  crowd  gathered  around  the  tavern,  listening  to 
the  news  of  our  defeat  from  one  of  the  soldiers,  and  as  we 
passed  a  loud  and  insulting  cry  went  up  of  "  Long  live 
Bacon!  and  down  with  tyranny!"  The  soldiers  declared 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          267 

that  they  would  not  stain  their  hands  with  the  blood  of 
their  fellow-subjects;  the  citizens  as  vehemently  declared 
that  the  town  itself  should  not  long  harbour  those  who  had 
trampled  on  their  rights.  Treason  stalks  abroad  boldly 
and  openly,  and  I  fear  that  the  loyalty  of  Virginia  is  con- 
fined to  this  room." 

"  Now,  Heaven  help  me,"  said  Berkeley,  sadly,  "  for  the 
world  has  well  nigh  deserted  me.  And  yet,  if  I  fall,  I  shall 
fall  at  my  post,  and  the  trust  bestowed  upon  me  by  my 
king  shall  be  yielded  only  with  my  life." 

"  It  were  madness  to  think  of  remaining  longer  here," 
said  Beverley ;  "  the  rebels,  with  the  most  consummate 
courage,  evince  the  most  profound  prudence  and  judgment. 
Before  the  dawn  they  will  bring  their  cannon  to  bear  upon 
our  ships  and  force  them  to  withdraw  from  the  harbour, 
and  then  all  means  of  escape  being  cut  off,  we  will  be 
forced  to  surrender  on  such  terms  as  the  enemy  may  dic- 
tate." 

"We  will  yield  to  no  terms,"  replied  Berkeley.  "For 
myself,  death  is  far  preferable  to  dishonour.  Rather  than 
surrender  the  trust  which  I  have  in  charge,  let  us  remain 
here,  until,  like  the  brave  senators  of  Rome,  we  are  hacked 
to  pieces  at  our  posts  by  the  swords  of  these  barbarians." 

"  But  what  can  you  expect  to  gain  by  such  a  desperate 
course,"  said  old  Ballard,  who,  though  not  without  a  suf- 
ficient degree  of  courage,  would  prefer  rather  to  admire  the 
heroism  of  the  Roman  patriots  in  history,  than  to  vie  with 
them  in  their  desperate  resolution. 

"  I  expect  to  retain  my  honour,"  cried  the  brave  old 
Governor.  "A  brave  man  may  suffer  death — he  can  never 
submit  to  dishonour." 

"  My  honoured  Governor,"  said  Major  Beverley,  whose 
well-known  courage  and  high-toned  chivalry  gave  great 
effect  to  his  counsel ;  "  believe  me,  that  we  all  admire  your 
steady  loyalty  and  your  noble  heroism.  But  reflect,  that 


268  HANSFORD : 

you  gain  nothing  by  desperation,  and  it  is  the  part  of  true 
courage  not  to  hazard  a  desperate  risk  without  any  hope 
of  success.  God  knows  that  I  would  willingly  yield  up  my 
own  life  to  preserve  unsullied  the  honour  of  my  country, 
and  the  dignity  of  my  king ;  but  I  doubt  how  far  we  serve 
his  real  interests  by  a  deliberate  sacrifice  of  all  who  are 
loyalto  his  cause." 

"And  what  then  would  you  advise  ?"  said  the  Governor, 
in  an  irritated  manner.  "  To  make  a  base  surrender  of 
our  persons  and  our  cause,  and  to  grant  to  these  insolent 
rebels  every  concession  which  their  insolence  may  choose  to 
demand  ?  No !  gentlemen,  sooner  would  William  Berke- 
ley remain  alone  at  his  post,  until  his  ashes  mingled  with 
the  ashes  of  this  palace,  than  yield  one  inch  to  rebels  in 
arms." 

"  It  is  not  necessary,"  returned  Beverley.  "  You  may 
escape  without  loss  of  life  or  compromise  of  honour,  and 
reserve  until  a  future  day  your  vengeance  on  these  dis- 
loyal barbarians." 

Berkeley  was  silent. 

"  Look,"  continued  Beverley,  leading  the  old  loyalist  to 
the  window  which  overlooked  the  river ;  "  by  the  light  of 
dawn  you  can  see  the  white  sails  of  the  Adam  and  Eve,  as 
she  rests  at  anchor  in  yonder  harbor.  There  is  still  time 
to  escape  before  the  rebels  can  suspect  our  design.  Once 
upon  the  deck  of  that  little  vessel,  with  her  sails  unfurled 
to  this  rising  breeze,  you  may  defy  the  threats  of  the  be- 
siegers. Then  once  more  to  your  faithful  Accomac,  and 
when  the  forces  from  England  shall  arrive,  trained  bands 
of  loyal  and  brave  Britons,  your  vengeance  shall  then  be 
commensurate  with  the  indignities  you  have  suffered." 

Still  Berkeley  hesitated,  but  his  friends  could  see  by  the 
quiver  of  his  lip,  that  the  struggle  was  still  going  on,  and 
that  he  was  thinking  with  grim  satisfaction  of  that  prom- 
ised vengeance. 


A   TALE   OF    BACON'S   REBELLION.  269 

"Let  me  urge  you,"  continued  Beverley,  encouraged  by 
the  effect  which  he  was  evidently  producing ;  "let  me  urge 
you  to  a  prompt  decision.  Will  you  remain  longer  in 
Jamestown,  this  nest  of  traitors,  and  expose  your  faithful 
adherents  to  certain  death  ?  Is  loyalty  so  common  in  Vir- 
ginia, that  you  will  suffer  these  brave  supporters  of  your 
cause  to  be  sacrificed  ?  Will  you  leave  their  wives  and 
daughters,  whom  they  can  no  longer  defend,  to  the  insults 
and  outrages  of  a  band  of  lawless  adventurers,  who  have 
shown  that  they  disregard  the  rights  of  men,  and  the  more 
sacred  deference  due  to  a  woman  ?  We  have  done  all  that 
became  us,  as  loyal  citizens,  to  do.  We  have  sustained  the 
standard  of  the  king  until  it  were  madness,  not  courage, 
further  to  oppose  the  designs  of  the  rebels.  Beset  by  a 
superior  force,  and  with  treason  among  our  own  citizens, 
and  defection  among  our  own  soldiers — with  but  twenty 
stout  hearts  still  true  and  faithful  to  their  trust — our  alter- 
native is  between  surrender  and  death  on  the  one  hand,  and 
flight  and  future  vengeance  on  the  other.  Can  you  longer 
hesitate  between  the  two  ?  But  see,  the  sky  grows  brighter 
toward  the  east,  and  the  morning  comes  to  increase  the 
perils  of  the  night.  I  beseech  you,  by  my  loyalty  and  my 
devotion  to  your  interest,  decide  quickly  and  wisely." 

"  I  will  go,"  replied  Berkeley,  after  a  brief  pause,  in  a 
voice  choking  with  emotion.  "But  God  is  my  witness, 
that  if  I  only  were  concerned,  rebellion  should  learn  that 
there  was  a  loyalist  who  held  his  sacred  trust  so  near  his 
heart,  that  it  could  only  be  yielded  with  his  life-blood.  But 
why  should  I  thus  boast  ?  Do  with  me  as  you  please — I 
will  go." 

No  sooner  was  Berkeley's  final  decision  known,  than  the 
whole  palace  was  in  a  state  of  preparation.  Hurriedly 
putting  up  such  necessaries  as  would  be  needed  in  their 
temporary  exile,  the  loyalists  were  soon  ready  for  their 
sudden  departure.  Lady  Frances,  stately  as  ever,  remained 
23* 


210  HANSFORD: 

perhaps  rather  longer  before  her  mirror,  in  the  arrangement 
of  her  tke,  than  was  consistent  with  their  hasty  flight. 
Virginia  Temple  scarcely  devoted  a  moment  for  her  own 
preparations,  so  constantly  was  her  assistance  required  by 
her  mother,  who  bustled  about  from  trunk  to  trunk,  in  a 
perfect  agony  of  haste — found  she  had  locked  up  her 
mantle,  which  was  in  the  very  bottom  of  an  immense  trunk, 
and  finally,  when  she  had  put  her  spectacles  and  keys  in 
her  pocket,  declared  that  they  were  lost,  and  required  Vir- 
ginia to  search  in  every  hole  and  corner  of  the  room  for 
them.  But  with  all  these  delays — ever  incident  to  ladies, 
and  old  ones  especially,  when  starting  on  a  journey — the 
little  party  were  at  length  announced  to  be  ready  for  their 
"  moonlight  flitting. "  Sadly  and  silently  they  left  the  palace 
to  darkness  and  solitude,  and  proceeded  towards  the  river. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  garden,  which  ran  down  to  the  banks 
of  the  river,  were  two  large  boats,  belonging  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  which  were  often  used  in  pleasure  excursions. 
In  these  the  fugitives  embarked,  and  under  the  muscular 
efforts  of  the  strong  oarsmen,  the  richly  freighted  boats 
scudded  rapidly  through  the  water  towards  the  good  ship 
"Adam  and  Eve,"  which  lay  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  shore,  to  avoid  the  guns  of  the  insurgents. 

Alfred  Bernard  had  the  good  fortune  to  have  the  fair 
Virginia  under  his  immediate  charge  ;  but  the  hearts  of 
both  were  too  full  to  improve  the  opportunity  with  much 
conversation.  The  young  intriguer,  who  cared  but  little  in 
his  selfish  heart  for  either  loyalists  or  rebels,  still  felt  that 
he  had  placed  his  venture  on  a  wrong  card,  and  was  about 
to  lose.  The  hopes  of  preferment  which  he  had  cherished 
were  about  to  be  dissipated  by  the  ill  fortune  of  his  patron, 
and  the  rival  of  his  love,  crowned  with  success,  he  feared, 
might  yet  bear  away  the  prize  which  he  had  so  ardently 
coveted.  Virginia  Temple  had  more  generous  cause  for 
depression  than  he.  Hers  was  the  hard  lot  to  occupy  a 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          271 

position  of  neutrality  in  interest  between  the  contending 
parties.  Whichever  faction  in  the  State  succeeded,  she 
must  be  a  mourner ;  for,  in  either  case,  she  was  called  upon 
to  sacrifice  an  idol  which  she  long  had  cherished,  and  which 
she  must  now  yield  for  ever.  They  sat  together  near  the 
stern  of  the  boat,  and  watched  the  moonlight  diamonds 
which  sparkled  for  a  moment  on  the  white  spray  that 
dropped  from  the  dripping  oar,  and  then  passed  away. 

"  It  is  thus,"  said  Bernard,  with  a  heavy  sigh.  "  It  is  thus 
with  this  present  transient  life.  We  dance  for  a  moment 
upon  the  white  waves  of  fortune,  rejoicing  in  light  and  hope 
and  joy — but  the  great,  unfeeling  world  rolls  on,  regardless 
of  our  little  life,  while  we  fade  even  while  we  sparkle,  and 
our  places  are  supplied  by  others,  who  in  their  turn,  dance 
and  shine,  and  smile,  and  pass  away,  and  are  forgotten  !" 

"It  is  even  so,"  said  Virginia,  sadly — then  turning  her 
blue  eyes  upward,  she  added,  sweetly,  "  but  see,  Mr.  Ber- 
nard, the  moon  which  shines  so  still  and  beautiful  in  heaven, 
partakes  not  of  the  changes  of  these  reflected  fragments  of 
her  brightness.  So  we,  when  reunited  to  the  heaven  from 
which  our  spirits  came,  will  shine  again  unchangeable  and 
happy." 

"Yes,  my  sweet  one,"  replied  her  lover  passionately, 
"  and  were  it  my  destiny  to  be  ever  thus  with  you,  and  to 
hear  the  sweet  eloquence  of  your  pure  lips,  I  would  not 
need  a  place  in  heaven  to  be  happy." 

"Mr.  Bernard,"  said  Virginia,  "is  this  a  time  or  place 
to  speak  thus  ?  The  circumstances  by  which  we  are  sur- 
rounded should  check  every  selfish  thought  for  the  time,  in 
our  care  for  the  more  important  interests  at  stake. " 

"My  fair,  young  loyalist,"  said  Bernard,  "and  is  it  be- 
cause of  the  interest  excited  in  your  bosom  by  the  fading 
cause  of  loyalty,  that  you  check  so  quickly  the  slightest 
word  of  admiration  from  one  whom  you  have  called  your 


2Y2  HANSFORD : 

friend?     Nay,  fair  maiden,  be  truthful  even  though  you 
should  be  cruel." 

"To  be  candid,  then,  Mr.  Bernard,"  returned  Virginia, 
"  I  thought  we  had  long  ago  consented  not  to  mention  that 
subject  again.  I  hope  you  will  be  faithful  to  your  promise." 

"My  dearest  Virginia,  that  compact  was  made  when 
your  heart  had  been  given  to  another  whom  you  thought 
worthy  to  reign  there.  Surely,  you  cannot,  after  the  events 
of  to-night  oppose  such  an  obstacle  to  my  suit.  Your 
gentle  heart,  my  girl,  is  too  pure  and  holy  a  shrine  to 
afford  refuge  to  a  rebel,  and  a  profaner  of  woman's  sacred 
rights." 

"Mr.  Bernard,"  said  Virginia,  "another  word  on  this 
subject,  and  I  seek  refuge  myself  from  your  insults.  You, 
who  are  the  avowed  champion  of  woman's  rights,  should 
know  that  she  owns  no  right  so  sacred  as  to  control  the 
affections  of  her  own  heart.  I  have  before  told  you  in  terms 
too  plain  to  be  misunderstood,  that  I  can  never  love  you. 
Force  me  not  to  repeat  what  you  profess  may  give  you  pain, 
and  above  all  force  me  not  by  your  unwelcome  and  ungene- 
rous assaults  upon  an  absent  rival  to  substitute  for  the  real 
interest  which  I  feel  in  your  happiness,  a  feeling  more 
strong  and  decided,  but  less  friendly." 

"  You  mean  that  you  would  hate  me,"  said  Bernard,  cut 
to  the  heart  at  her  language,  at  once  so  firm  and  decided, 
yet  so  guarded  and  courteous.  "Very  well,"  he  added, 
with  an  hauteur  but  illy  assumed.  "  I  trust  I  have  more 
independence  and  self-respect  than  to  intrude  my  attentions 
or  conversation  where  they  are  unwelcome.  But  see,  our 
journey  is  at  an  end,  and  though  Miss  Temple  might  have 
made  it  more  pleasant,  I  am  glad  that  we  are  freed  from 
the  embarrassment  that  we  both  must  feel  in  a  more 
extended  interview." 

And  now  the  loud  voice  of  Captain  Gardiner  is  heard 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          273 

demanding  their  names  and  wishes,  which  are  soon  told. 
The  hoarse  cable  grates  harshly  along  the  ribs  of  the  vessel, 
and  the  boats  are  drawn  up  close  to  her  broadside,  and  the 
loyal  fugitives  ascending  the  rude  and  tremulous  rope- 
ladder,  stand  safe  and  sound  upon  the  deck  of  the  Adam 
and  Eve. 

Scarcely  had  Berkeley  and  his  adherents  departed  on 
their  flight  from  Jamestown,  when  some  of  the  disaffected 
citizens  of  the  town,  seeing  the  lights  in  the  palace  so  sud- 
denly extinguished,  shrewdly  suspected  their  design.  With- 
out staying  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  their  suspicions,  they 
hastened  with  the  intelligence  to  General  Bacon,  and  threw 
open  the  gates  to  the  insurgents.  Highly  elated  with  the  easy 
victory  they  had  gained  over  the  loyalists,  the  triumphant 
patriots  forgetting  their  fatigue  and  hunger,  marched  into 
the  city,  amid  the  loud  acclamations  of  the  fickle  populace. 
But  to  the  surprise  of  all  there  was  still  a  gloom  resting 
upon  Bacon  and  his  officers.  That  cautious  and  far-seeing 
man  saw  at  a  glance,  that  although  he  had  gained  an  im- 
mense advantage  over  the  royalists,  in  the  capture  of  the 
metropolis,  it  was  impossible  to  retain  it  in  possession  long. 
As  soon  as  his  army  was  dispersed,  or  engaged  in  another 
quarter  of  the  colony,  it  would  be  easy  for  Berkeley,  with 
the  navy  under  his  command,  to  return  to  the  place,  and 
erect  once  more  the  fallen  standard  of  loyalty. 

While  then,  the  soldiery  were  exulting  rapturously  over 
their  triumph,  Bacon,  surrounded  by  his  officers,  was  gravely 
considering  the  best  policy  to  pursue. 

"  My  little  army  is  too  small/'  he  said,  "to  leave  a  gar- 
rison here,  and  so  long  as  they  remain  thus  organized  peace 
will  be  banished  from  the  colony  ;  and  yet  I  cannot  leave 
the  town  to  become  again  the  harbour  of  these  treacherous 
loyalists." 

"  I  can  suggest  no  policy  that  is  fit  to  pursue,  in  such  an 
emergency,"  said  Ilansford,  "except  to  retain  possession 


274  HANSFOBD: 

of  the  town,  at    least  until   the   Governor  is    fairly   in 
Accomac  again." 

"  That,  at  best,"  said  Bacon,  "  will  only  be  a  dilatory 
proceeding,  for  sooner  or  later,  whenef  er  the  army  is  dis- 
banded, the  stubborn  old  governor  will  return  and  force  us 
to  continue  the  war.  And  besides  I  doubt  whether  we 
could  maintain  the  place  with  Brent  besieging  us  in  front, 
and  the  whole  naval  force  of  Virginia,  under  the  command 
of  such  expert  seamen  as  Gardiner  and  Larimore,  attacking 
us  from  the  river.  No,  no,  the  only  way  to  untie  the  Gordian 
knot  is  to  cut  it,  and  the  only  way  to  extricate  ourselves 
from  this  difficulty  is  to  burn  the  town." 

This  policy,  extreme  as  it  was,  in  the  necessities  of  their 
condition  was  received  with  a  murmur  of  assent.  Lawrence 
and  Drummond,  devoted  patriots,  and  two  of  the  wealthiest 
and  most  enterprising  citizens  of  the  town,  evinced  their 
willingness  to  sacrifice  their  private  means  to  secure  the 
public  good,  by  firing  their  own  houses.  Emulating  an 
example  so  noble  and  disinterested,  other  citizens  followed 
in  their  wake.  The  soldiers,  ever  ready  for  excitement, 
joined  in  the  fatal  work.  A  stiff  breeze  springing  up, 
favored  their  design,  and  soon  the  devoted  town  was  en- 
veloped in  the  greedy  flames. 

From  the  deck  of  the  Adam  and  Eve,  the  loyalists  wit- 
nessed the  stern,  uncompromising  resolution  of  the  rebels. 
The  sun  was  just  rising,  and  his  broad,  red  disc  was  met  in 
his  morning  glory  with  flames  as  bright  and  as  intense  as 
his  own.  The  Palace,  the  State  House,  the  large  Garter 
Tavern,  the  long  line  of  stores,  and  the  Warehouse,  all  in 
succession  were  consumed.  The  old  Church,  the  proud  old 
Church,  where  their  fathers  had  worshipped,  was  the  last  to 
meet  its  fate.  The  fire  seemed  unwilling  to  attack  its 
sacred  walls,  but  it  was  to  fall  with  the  rest ;  and  as  the 
broad  sails  of  the  gay  vessel  were  spread  to  the  morning 
breeze,  which  swelled  them,  that  devoted  old  Church  was 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.         275 

seen  in  its  raiment  of  fire,  like  some  old  martyr,  hugging 
the  flames  which  consumed  it,  and  pointing  with  its  tapering 
steeple  to  an  avenging  Heaven. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

"  We  take  no  note  of  time  but  by  its  loss." 

Young. 

IT  is  permitted  to  the  story  teller,  like  the  angels  of  ancient 
metaphysicians,  to  pass  from  point  to  point,  and  from  event 
to  event,  without  traversing  the  intermediate  space  or  time. 
A  romance  thus  becomes  a  moving  panorama,  where  the 
prominent  objects  of  interest  pass  in  review  before  the 
eyes  of  the  spectator,  and  not  an  atlas  or  chart,  where  the 
toiling  student,  with  rigid  scrutiny  must  seek  the  latitude 
and  longitude  of  every  object  which  meets  his  view. 

Availing  ourselves  of  this  privilege,  -we  will  pass  rapidly 
over  the  events  which  occurred  subsequently  to  the  burning 
of  Jamestown,  and  again  resume  the  narrative  where  it 
more  directly  affects  the  fortunes  of  Hansford  and  Virginia. 
We  will  then  suppose  that  it  is  about  the  first  of  January, 
1677,  three  months  after  the  circumstances  detailed  in  the 
last  chapter.  Nathaniel  Bacon,  the  arch  rebel,  as  the  loyal 
historians  and  legislators  of  his  day  delighted  to  call  him, 
has  passed  away  from  the  scenes  of  earth.  The  damp 
trenches  of  Jamestown,  more  fatal  than  the  arms  of  his 
adversaries,  have  stilled  the  restless  beating  of  that  bold 
heart,  which  in  other  circumstances  might  have  insured 
success  to  the  cause  of  freedom.  An  industrious  compiler 
of  the  laws  of  Virginia,  and  an  ingenious  commentator  on 
her  Colonial  History,  has  suggested  from  the  phraseology 


276  HANSFORD: 

of  one  of  the  Acts  of  the  Assembly,  that  Bacon  met  his 
fate  by  the  dagger  of  the  assassin,  employed  by  the  revenge- 
ful Berkeley.  But  the  account  of  his  death  is  too  authentic 
to  admit  of  such  a  supposition,  and  the  character  of  Sir 
William  Berkeley,  already  clouded  with  relentless  cruelty, 
is  happily  freed  from  the  foul  imputation,  that  to  the  preju- 
dices and  sternness  of  the  avenging  loyalist  he  added  the 
atrocity  of  a  malignant  fiend.  We  have  the  most  authentic 
testimony,  that  Nathaniel  Bacon  died  of  a  dysentery,  con- 
tracted by  his  exposure  in  the  trenches  of  Jamestown,  at 
the  house  of  a  Dr.  Pate,  in  the  county  of  Gloucester ;  and 
that  the  faithful  Lawrence,  to  screen  his  insensate  clay  from 
the  rude  vengeance  of  the  Governor,  gave  the  young  hero 
a  grave  in  some  unknown  forest,  where  after  life's  fitful 
fever  he  sleeps  well. 

The  cause  of  freedom,  having  lost  its  head,  fell  a  prey  to 
discord  and  defection.  In  the  selection  of  a  leader  to  suc- 
ceed the  gallant  Bacon,  dissensions  prevailed  among  the 
insurgents,  and  disgusted  at  last  with  the  trials  to  which 
they  were  exposed,  and  wearied  with  the  continuance  of  a 
civil  war,  the  great  mass  of  the  people  retired  quietly  to 
their  homes.  Ingram  and  Walklate,  who  attempted  to 
revive  the  smouldering  ashes  of  the  rebellion,  were  the 
embodiments  of  frivolity  and  stupidity,  and  were  unable  to 
retain  that  influence  over  the  stern  and  high-toned  patriots 
which  was  essential  to  united  action.  Deprived  of  their 
support,  as  may  be  easily  conjectured,  there  was  no  longer 
any  difficulty  in  suppressing  the  ill-fated  rebellion  ;  and 
Walklate,  foreseeing  the  consequences  of  further  resistance, 
resolved  to  make  a  separate  peace  for  himself  and  a  few 
personal  friends,  and  to  leave  his  more  gallant  comrades  to 
their  fate.  The  terms  of  treaty  proposed  by  Berkeley  were 
dispatched  by  Captain  Gardiner  to  the  selfish  leader,  who, 
with  the  broken  remnant  of  the  insurgents,  was  stationed  at 
West  Point.  He  acceded  to  the  terms  with  avidity,  and 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          27T 

thus  put  a  final  end  to  a  rebellion,  which,  even  at  that  early 
day,  was  so  near  securing  the  blessings  of  rational  freedom 
to  Virginia. 

Meantime,  the  long  expected  aid  from  England  had 
arrived,  and  Berkeley,  with  an  organized  and  reliable  force 
at  his  command,  prepared,  with  grim  satisfaction,  to  execute 
his  terrible  vengeance  upon  the  proscribed  and  fugitive 
insurgents.  Major  Beverley,  at  the  head  of  a  considerable 
force,  was  dispatched  in  pursuit  of  such  of  the  unhappy 
men  as  might  linger  secreted  in  the  woods  and  marshes 
near  the  river — and  smaller  parties  were  detailed  for  the 
same  object  in  other  parts  of  the  colony.  Many  of  the 
fugitives  were  captured  and  brought  before  the  relentless 
Governor.  There,  mocked  and  insulted  in  their  distress, 
the  devoted  patriots  were  condemned  by  a  court  martial, 
and  with  cruel  haste  hurried  to  execution.  The  fate  of  the 
gallant  Lawrence,  to  whom  incidental  allusion  has  been 
frequently  made  in  the  foregoing  pages,  was  long  uncertain 
—but  at  last  those  interested  in  his  fate  were  forced  to  the 
melancholy  conclusion,  that  well  nigh  reduced  to  starvation 
in  his  marshy  fastness,  with  Roman  firmness,  the  brave 
patriot  fell  by  his  own  hand,  rather  than  submit  to  the 
ruthless  cruelty  of  the  vindictive  Governor. 

Thomas  Hansford  was  among  those  who  were  proscribed 
fugitives  from  the  vengeance  of  the  loyalists.  He  had  in 
vain  endeavoured  to  rally  the  dispirited  insurgents,  and  to 
hazard  once  more  the  event  of  a  battle  with  the  royal  party. 
He  indignantly  refused  to  accept  the  terms,  so  readily 
embraced  by  Walklate,  and  determined  to  share  the  fate  of 
those  brave  comrades,  in  whose  former  triumph  he  had 
participated.  And  now,  a  lonely  wanderer,  he  eluded  the 
vigilant  pursuit  of  his  enemies,  awaiting  with  anxiety,  the 
respite  which  royal  interposition  would  grant,  to  the  un- 
abating  vengeance  of  the  governor.  He  was  not  without 
strong  hope  that  the  clemency  which  reflected  honour  on 
24 


278  HANSFORD: 

Charles  the  Second,  towards  the  enemies  of  his  father, 
would  be  extended  to  the  promoters  of  the  ill-fated  rebel- 
lion in  Yirginia.  In  default  of  this,  he  trusted  to  make 
his  escape  into  Maryland,  after  the  eagerness  of  pursuit 
was  over,  and  there  secretly  to  embark  for  England — where, 
under  an  assumed  name,  he  might  live  out  the  remnant  of 
his  days  in  peace  and  security,  if  not  in  happiness.  It  was 
with  a  heavy  heart  that  he  looked  forward  to  even  this 
remote  chance  of  escape  and  safety — for  it  involved  the 
necessity  of  leaving,  for  ever,  his  widowed  mother,  who 
leaned  upon  his  strong  arm  for  support ;  and  his  beloved 
Yirginia,  in  whose  smiles  of  favour,  he  could  alone  be 
happy.  Still,  it  was  the  only  honourable  chance  that 
offered,  and  while  as  a  brave  man  he  had  nerved  himself  for 
any  fate,  as  a  good  man,  he  could  not  reject  the  means  of 
safety  which  were  extended  to  him. 

While  these  important  changes  were  taking  place  in  the 
political  world,  the  family  at  Windsor  Hall  were  differently 
affected  by  the  result.  Colonel  Temple,  in  the  pride  of  his 
gratified  loyalty,  could  not  disguise  his  satisfaction  even 
from  his  unhappy  daughter,  and  rubbed  his  hands  gleefully 
as  the  glad  tinings  came  that  the  rebellion  had  been  quelled. 
The  old  lady  shared  his  happiness  with  all  her  heart,  but 
mingled  with  her  joy  some  of  the  harmless  vanity  of  her 
nature.  She  attributed  the  happy  result  in  a  good  degree 
to  the  counsel  and  wisdom  of  her  husband,  and  recurred 
with  great  delight  to  her  own  bountiful  hospitality  to  the 
fugitive  loyalists.  Nay,  in  the  excess  of  her  self-gratula- 
tion,  she  even  hinted  an  opinion,  that  if  Colonel  Temple 
had  remained  in  England,  the  cause  of  loyalty  would  have 
been  much  advanced,  and  that  General  Monk  would  not 
have  borne  away  the  palm  of  having  achieved  the  glorious 
restoration. 

But  these  loyal  sentiments  of  gratulation  met  with  no 
response  in  the  heart  of  Yirginia  Temple.  The  exciting 


A  TALE    OP   BACON'S   REBELLION.  279 

scenes  through  which  she  had  lately  passed  had  left  their 
traces  on  her  young  heart.  No  more  the  laughing,  thought- 
less, happy  girl  whom  we  have  known,  shedding  light  and 
gaiety  on  all  around  her,  she  had  gained,  in  the  increased 
strength  and  development  of  her  character,  much  to  com- 
pensate for  the  loss.  The  furnace  which  evaporates  the 
lighter  particles  of  the  ore,  leaves  the  precious  metal  in 
their  stead.  Thus  is  it  with  the  trying  furnace  of  affliction 
in  the  formation  of  the  human  character,  and  such  was  its 
effect  upon  Virginia.  She  no  longer  thought  or  felt  as  a 
girl.  She  felt  that  she  was  a  woman,  called  upon  to  act  a 
woman's  part ;  and  relying  on  her  strengthened  nature,  but 
more  upon  the  hand  whose  protection  she  had  early  learned 
to  seek,  she  was  prepared  to  act  that  part.  The  fate  of 
Hansford  was  unknown  to  her.  She  had  neither  seen  nor 
heard  from  him  since  that  awful  night,  when  she  parted 
from  him  at  the  gate  of  Jamestown.  Convinced  of  his 
high  sense  of  honour,  and  his  heroic  daring,  she  knew  that 
he  was  the  last  to  desert  a  falling  cause,  and  she  trembled 
for  his  life,  should  he  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enraged  and 
relentless  Berkeley.  But  even  if  her  fears  in  this  respect 
were  groundless,  the  future  was  still  dark  to  her.  The 
bright  dream  which  she  had  cherished,  that  he  to  whom,  in 
the  trusting  truth  of  her  young  heart,  she  had  plighted  her 
troth,  would  share  with  her  the  joys  and  hopes  of  life,  was 
now,  alas  !  dissipated  forever.  A  proscribed  rebel,  an  out- 
cast from  home,  her  father's  loyal  prejudices  were  such  that 
she  could  never  hope  to  unite  her  destiny  with  Hansford. 
And  yet,  dreary  as  the  future  had  become,  she  bore  up  nobly 
in  the  struggle,  and,  with  patient  submission,  resigned  her 
fate  to  the  will  of  Heaven. 

Her  chief  employment  now  was  to  train  the  mind  of  the 
young  Mamalis  to  truth,  and  in  this  sacred  duty  she  derived 
new  consolation  in  her  affliction.  The  young  Indian  girl 
had  made  Windsor  Hall  her  home  since  the  death  of  her 


280  HANSFORD : 

brother.  The  generous  nature  of  Colonel  Temple  could 
not  refuse  to  the  poor  orphan,  left  alone  on  earth  without 
a  protector,  a  refuge  and  a  home  beneath  his  roof.  Nor 
were  the  patient  and  prayerful  instructions  of  Yirginia 
without  their  reward.  The  light  which  had  long  been 
struggling  to  obtain  an  entrance  to  her  heart,  now  burst 
forth  in  the  full  effulgence  of  the  truth,  and  the  trusting 
Mamalis  had  felt,  in  all  its  beauty  and  reality,  the  assurance 
of  the  promise,  "  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labour  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  Her  manners, 
which,  with  all  of  her  association  with  Yirginia,  had  some- 
thing of  the  wildness  of  the  savage,  were  now  softened  and 
subdued.  Her  picturesque  but  wild  costume,  which  re- 
minded her  of  her  former  life,  was  discarded  for  the  more 
modest  dress  which  the  refinement  of  civilization  had  pre- 
scribed. .  Her  fine,  expressive  countenance,  which  had  often 
been  darkened  by  reflecting  the  wild  passions  of  her  unsub- 
dued heart,  was  now  radiant  with  peaceful  joy  ;  and  as  you 
gazed  upon  the  softened  expression,  the  tranquil  and  com- 
posed bearing  of  the  young  girl,  you  might  well  "  take 
knowledge  of  her  that  she  had  been  with  Jesus. " 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         281 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

"  Farewell  and  blessings  on  thy  way, 

Where'r  thou  goest,  beloved  stranger, 
Better  to  sit  and  watch  that  ray, 
And  think  thee  safe  though  far  away, 
Than  have  thee  near  me  and  in  danger." 

Lalla  RooJik. 

MOONLIGHT  at  Windsor  Hall !  The  waning,  January 
moon  shone  coldly  and  brightly,  as  it  rose  above  the 
dense  forest  which  surrounded  the  once  more  peaceful  home 
of  Colonel  Temple.  The  tall  poplars  which  shaded  the 
quiet  yard  were  silvered  with  its  light,  and  looked  like 
medieval  knights  all  clad  in  burnished  and  glistening  mail. 
The  crisp  hoarfrost  that  whitened  the  frozen  ground 
sparkled  in  the  mellow  beams,  like  twinkling  stars,  descended 
to  earth,  and  drinking  in  with  rapture  the  clear  light  of 
their  native  heaven.  Not  a  sound  was  heard  save  the 
dreary,  wintry  blast,  as  it  sighed  its  mournful  requiuin  over 
the  dead  year,  "gone  from  the  earth  for  ever." 

Virginia  Temple  had  not  yet  retired  to  rest,  although  it 
was  growing  late.  She  was  sitting  alone,  in  her  little 
chamber,  and  watching  the  glowing  embers  on  the  hearth, 
as  they  sparkled  for  a  moment,  and  shed  a  ruddy  light 
around,  and  then  were  extinguished,  throwing  the  whole 
room  into  dark  shadow.  Sad  emblem,  these  fleeting  sparks, 
of  the  hopes  that  had  once  been  bright  before  her,  assum- 
ing fancied  shapes  of  future  joy  and  peace  and  love,  and 
then  dying  to  leave  her  sad  heart  the  darker  for  their  former 
presence.  In  the  solitude  of  her  own  thoughts  she  was 
taking  a  calm  review  of  her  past  life — her  early  childhood — 
when  she  played  in  innocent  mirth  beneath  the  shade  of  the 
oaks  and  poplars  that  still  stood  unchanged  in  the  yard — 
24* 


282  HANSFORD  : 

her  first  acquaintance  with  Hansford,  which  opened  a  new 
world  to  her  young  heart,  replete  with  joys  and  treasures 
unknown  before — all  the  thrilling  events  of  the  last  few 
months — her  last  meeting  with  her  lover,  and  his  prayer  that 
she  at  least  would  not  censure  him,  when  he  was  gone — 
her  present  despondency  and  gloom — all  these  thoughts 
came  in  slow  and  solemn  procession  across  her  mind,  like 
dreary  ghosts  of  the  buried  past. 

Suddenly  she  was  startled  from  her  reverie  by  the  sound 
of  a  low,  sweet,  familiar  voice,  beneath  her  window,  and,  as 
she  listened,  the  melancholy  spirit  of  the  singer  sought  and 
found  relief  in  the  following  tender  strains  : 

"  Once  more  I  seek  thy  quiet  home, 

My  tale  of  love  to  tell, 
Once  more  from  danger's  field  I  come, 
To  breathe  a  last  farewell ! 
Though  hopes  are  flown, 
Though  friends  are  gone  ; 
Yet  wheresoe'r  I  flee, 
I  still  retain, 
And  hug  the  chain 
Which  binds  my  soul  to  thee. 

"  My  heart,  like  some  lone  chamber  left, 

Must,  mouldering,  fall  at  last; 
Of  hope,  of  love,  of  thee  bereft, 
It  lives  but  in  the  past. 
With  jealous  care, 
I  cherish  there 
The  web,  however  small, 

That  memory  weaves, 
And  mercy  leaves, 
Upon  that  ruined  wall. 

"  Though  Tyranny,  with  bloody  laws, 

May  dig  my  early  grave, 

Yet  death,  when  met  in  Freedom's  cause, 

Is  sweetest  to  the  brave ; 

Wedded  to  her, 

Without  a  fear, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         283 

I'll  mount  her  funeral  pile, 

Welcome  the  death 

Which  seals  my  faith, 
And  meet  it  with  a  smile. 

"  While,  like  the  tides,  that  softly  swell 

To  kiss  their  mother  moon, 
Thy  gentle  soul  will  soar  to  dwell 
In  visions  with  mine  own  j 

As  skies  distil 

The  dews  that  fill 
The  blushing  rose  at  even, 

So  blest  above, 

I'll  mourn  thy  love 
And  weep  for  thee  in  heaven." 

It  needed  not  the  well-known  voice  of  Hansford  to  assure 
the  weeping  girl  that  he  was  near  her.  The  burden  of  that 
sad  song,  which  found  an  echo  in  her  own  heart,  told  her 
too  plainly  that  it  could  be  only  he.  It  was  no  time  for 
delicate  scruples  of  propriety.  She  only  knew  that  he  was 
near  her  and  in  danger.  Rising  from  her  chair,  and  throw- 
ing around  her  a  shawl  to  protect  her  from  the  chill  night 
air,  she  hastened  to  the  door.  In  another  moment  they 
were  in  each  other's  arms. 

"  Oh,  my  own  Virginia,"  said  Hansford,  "this  is  too,  too 
kind.  I  had  only  thought  to  come  and  breathe  a  last  fare- 
well, arid  then  steal  from  your  presence  for  ever.  I  felt  that 
it  was  a  privilege  to  be  near  you,  to  watch,  unseen,  the 
flickering  light  reflected  from  your  presence.  This  itself 
had  been  reward  sufficient  for  the  peril  I  encounter.  How 
sweet  then  to  hear  once  .more  the  accents  of  your  voice, 
and  to  feel  once  more  the  warm  beating  of  your  faithful 
heart." 

"And  could  you  think,"  said  Virginia,  as  she  wept  upon 
his  shoulder,  "  that  knowing  you  to  be  in  danger,  I  could 
fail  to  see  you.  Oh,  Hansford !  you  little  know  the  truth 
of  woman's  love  if  you  can  for  a  moment  doubt  that  your 
misfortune  and  your  peril  have  made  you  doubly  dear." 


284  HANSFOED : 

"  Yet  how  brief  must  be  my  stay.  The  avenger  is  be- 
hind me,  and  I  must  soon  resume  my  lonely  wandering." 

"And  will  you  again  leave  me?"  asked  Yirginia,  in  a 
reproachful  tone. 

"  Leave  you,  dearest,  oh,  how  sweet  would  be  my  fate, 
after  all  my  cares  and  sufferings,  if  I  could  but  die  here. 
But  this  must  not  be.  Though  I  trust  I  know  how  to 
meet  death  as  a  brave  man,  yet  it  is  my  duty,  as  a  good 
man,  to  leave  no  honourable  means  untried  to  save  my  life." 

"  But  your  danger  cannot  be  so  great,  dearest,"  said 
Virginia,  tenderly.  "  Surely  my  father — " 

"  Would  feel  it  his  duty,"  said  Hansford,  interrupting 
her,  "  to  deliver  me  up  to  justice ;  and  feeling  it  to  be  such, 
he  would  have  the  moral  firmness  to  discharge  it.  Poor 
old  gentleman !  like  many  of  his  party,  his  prejudice  per- 
verts his  true  and  generous  heart.  My  poor  country  must 
suffer  long  before  she  can  overcome  the  opposition  of 
bigoted  loyalty.  Forgive  me  for  speaking  thus  of  your 
noble  father,  Yirginia — but  prejudices  like  these  are  the 
thorns  which  spring  up  in  his  heart  and  choke  the  true 
word  of  freedom,  and  render  it  unfruitful.  Is  it  not  so, 
dearest  ?" 

"  You  mistake  his  generous  nature,"  said  Yirginia, 
earnestly.  "  You  mistake  his  love  for  me.  You  mistake 
his  sound  judgment.  You  mistake  his  high  sense  of 
honour.  Think  you  that  he  sees  no  difference  between 
the  man  who,  impelled  by  principle,  asserts  what  he  be- 
lieves to  be  a  right,  and  him,  who  for  his  own  selfish  ends 
and  personal  advancement,  would  sacrifice  his  country. 
Yes,  my  dear  friend,  you  mistake  my  father.  He  will 
gladly  interpose  with  the  Governor  and  restore  you  to 
happiness,  to  freedom,  and  to — " 

She  paused,  unable  to  proceed  for  the  sobs  that  choked 
her  utterance,  and  then  gave  vent  to  a  flood  of  passionate 
grief. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          285 

"  You  would  add,  'and  to  thee,'  "  said  Hansford,  finish- 
ing the  sentence.  "  God  knows,  my  girl,  that  such  a  hope 
would  make  me  dare  more  peril  than  I  have  yet  encoun- 
tered. But,  alas !  if  it  were  even  as  you  say,  what  weight 
would  his  remonstrance  have  with  that  imperious  old 
tyrant,  Berkeley  ?  It  would  be  but  the  thistle-down 
against  the  cannon  ball  in  the  scales  of  his  justice." 

"  He  dare  not  refuse  my  father's  demands,"  said  Vir- 
ginia. "  One  who  has  been  so  devoted  to  his  cause,  who 
has  sacrificed  so  much  for  his  king,  and  who  has  afforded 
shelter  and  protection  to  the  Governor  himself  in  the  hour 
of  his  peril  and  need,  is  surely  entitled  to  this  poor  favour 
at  his  hands.  He  dare  not  refuse  to  grant  it." 

"  Alas !  Yirginia,  you  little  know  the  character  of  Sir 
William  Berkeley,  when  you  say  he  dares  not.  But  the 
very  qualities  which  you  claim,  and  justly  claim,  for  your 
father,  would  prevent  him  from  exerting  that  influence 
with  the  Governor  which  your  hopes  whisper  would  be  so 
successful — '  His  noble  nature '  would  prompt  him  at  any 
sacrifice  to  yield  personal  feeling  to  a  sense  of  public  duty. 
'  His  love  for  you '  would  prompt  him  to  rescue  you  from 
the  rebel  who  dared  aspire  to  your  hand.  'His  sound 
judgment '  would  dictate  the  maxim,  that  it  were  well  for 
one  man  to  die  for  the  people;  and  his  'high  sense  of 
honour'  would  prevent  him  from  interposing  between  a 
condemned  traitor  and  his  deserved  doom.  Be  assured, 
Virginia,  that  thus  would  your  father  reason ;  and  with  his 
views  of  loyalty  and  justice,  I  could  not  blame  him  for  the 
conclusion  to  which  he  came." 

"  Then  in  God's  name,"  cried  Yirginia,  in  an  agony  of 
desperation,  for  she  saw  the  force  of  Hansford's  views,  "  how 
can  you  shun  this  threatening  danger  ?  Whither  can  you 
fly  ?  " 

"  My  only  hope,"  said  Hansford,  gloomily,  "  is  to  leave 
the  Colony  and  seek  refuge  in  Maryland,  though  I  fear  that 


286  HANSFORD  : 

this  is  hopeless.  If  I  fail  in  this,  then  I  must  lurk  in  some 
hiding  place  -until  instructions  from  England  may  arrive, 
and  check  the  vindictive  Berkeley  in  his  ruthless  cruelty." 

"And  is  there  a  hope  of  that  I  "  said  Virginia,  quickly. 

"  There  is  a  faint  hope,  and  that  slender  thread  is  all 
that  hangs  between  me  and  a  traitor's  doom.  But  I  rely 
with  some  confidence  upon  the  mild  and  humane  policy 
pursued  by  Charles  toward  the  enemies  of  his  father.  At 
any  rate,  it  is  all  that  is  left  me,  and  you  know  the  proverb," 
he  added,  with  a  sad  smile,  " '  A  drowning  man  catches  at 
straws.'  Any  chance,  however  slight,  appears  larger  when 
seen  through  the  gloom  of  approaching  despair,  just  as  any 
object  seems  greater  when  seen  through  a  mist." 

"  It  is  not,  it  shall  not  be  slight,"  said  the  hopeful  girl, 
"  we  will  lay  hold  upon  it  with  firm  and  trusting  hearts,  and 
it  will  cheer  us  in  our  weary  way,  and  then — " 

But  here  the  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  sound 
of  approaching  footsteps,  and  the  light,  graceful  form  of 
Mamalis  stood  before  them.  The  quick  ear  of  the  Indian 
girl  had  caught  the  first  low  notes  of  Hansford's  serenade, 
even  while  she  slept,  and  listening  attentively  to  the  sound, 
she  had  heard  Virginia  leave  the  room  and  go  down  stairs. 
Alarmed  at  her  prolonged  absence,  Mamalis  could  no 
longer  hesitate  on  the  propriety  of  ascertaining  its  cause, 
and  hastily  dressing  herself,  she  ran  down  to  the  open  door 
and  joined  the  lovers  as  we  have  stated. 

"  We  are  discovered,"  said  Hansford,  in  a  surprised  but 
steady  voice.  "Farewell,  Virginia."  And  he  was  about 
to  rush  from  the  place,  when  Virginia  interposed. 

"  Fear  nothing  from  her,"  she  said.  "  Her  trained  ear 
caught  the  sounds  of  our  voices  more  quickly  than  could 
the  duller  senses  of  the  European.  You  are  in  no  danger ; 
and  her  opportune  presence  suggests  a  plan  for  your 
escape." 

"  What  is  that  ?"  asked  Hansford,  anxiously. 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         287 

"  First  tell  me,"  said  Yirginia,  "  how  long  it  will  proba- 
bly be  before  the  "milder  policy  of  Charles-  will  arrest  the 
Governor  in  his  vengeance." 

"  It  is  impossible  to  guess  with  accuracy — if,  indeed,  it 
ever  should  come.  But  the  king  has  heard  for  some  time 
of  the  suppression  of  the  enterprise,  and  it  can  scarcely  be 
more  than  two  weeks  before  we  hear  from  him.  But  to 
what  does  your  question  tend  ?" 

"  Simply  this,"  returned  Yirginia.  "  The  wigwam  of 
Mamalis  is  only  about  two  miles  from  the  hall,  and  in  so 
secluded  a  spot  that  it  is  entirely  unknown  to  any  of  the 
Governor's  party.  There  we  can  supply  your  present 
wants,  and  give  you  timely  warning  of  any  approaching 
danger.  The  old  wigwam  is  a  good  deal  dilapidated,  but 
then  it  will  at  least  afford  you  shelter  from  the  weather." 

"  And  from  that  ruder  storm  which  threatens  me,"  said 
Hansford,  gloomily.  "  You  are  right.  I  know  the  place 
well,  and  trust  it  may  be  a  safe  retreat,  at  least  for  the 
present.  But,  alas  1  how  sad  is  my  fate, — to  be  skulking 
from  justice  like  a  detected  thief  or  murderer,  afraid  to  show 
my  face  to  my  fellow  in  the  open  day,  and  starting  like  a 
frightened  deer  at  every  approaching  sound.  Oh,  it  is  too 
horrible !" 

"  Think  not  of  it  thus,"  said  Yirginia,  in  an  encouraging 
voice.  "  Remember  it  only  as  the  dull  twilight  that 
divides  the  night  from  the  morning.  This  painful  suspense 
will  soon  be  over  ;  and  then,  safe  and  happy,  we  will  smile 
at  the  dangers  we  have  passed." 

"  No,  Yirginia,"  said  Hansford,  in  the  same  gloomy 
voice,  "you  are  too  hopeful.  There  is  a  whispering  voice 
within  that  tells  me  that  this  plan  will  not  succeed,  and  that 
we  cannot  avoid  the  dangers  which  threaten  me.  No,"  he 
cried,  throwing  off  the  gloom  which  hung  over  him,  while 
his  fine  blue  eye  flashed  with  pride.  "  No  !  The  decree 
has  gone  forth  !  Every  truth  must  succeed  with  blood. 


288-  HANSFORD : 

If  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  be  the  seed  of  the  Church,  it 
may  also  enrich  the  soil  where  liberty  must  grow  ;  and  far 
rather  would  I  that  my  blood  should  be  shed  in  such  a 
cause,  than  that  it  should  creep  sluggishly  in  my  veins 
through  a  long  and  useless  life,  until  it  clotted  and  stagnated 
in  an  ignoble  grave." 

"  Oh,  there  spoke  that  fearful  pride  again,"  said  Yirginia, 
with  a  deep  sigh  ;  "  the  pride  that  pursues  its  mad  career, 
unheeding  prudence,  unguided  by  judgment,  until  it  is  at 
last  checked  by  its  own  destruction.  And  would  you  not 
sacrifice  the  glory  that  you  speak  of,  for  me  ?" 

"  You  have  long  since  furnished  me  the  answer  to  that 
plea,  my  girl,"  he  replied,  pressing  her  tenderly  to  his 
heart.  "  Do  you  remember,  Lucasta, 

'  I  had  not  loved  thee,  dear,  so  much, 
Loved  I  not  honour  more/ 

Believe  me,  my  Yirginia,  it  is  an  honourable  and  not  a 
glorious  name  I  seek.  Without  the  latter,  life  still  would 
be  happy  and  blessed  when  adorned  by  your  smiles.  With- 
out the  former,  your  smile  and  your  love  would  add  bitter- 
ness to  the  cup  that  dishonour  would  bid  me  quaff.  And 
now,  Yirginia,  farewell.  The  night  air  has  chilled  you, 
dearest — then  go,  and  remember  me  in  your  dreams.  One 
fond  kiss,  to  keep  virgined  upon  my  lips  till  we  meet  again. 
Farewell,  Mamalis — be  faithful  to  your  kind  mistress." 
And  then  imprinting  one  long,  last  kiss  upon  the  fair  cheek 
of  the  trusting  Yirgiuia,  he  turned  from  the  door,  and  was 
soon  lost  from  their  sight  in  the  dense  forest. 

Once  more  in  her  own  little  room,  Yirginia,  with  a  grate- 
ful heart,  fell  upon  her  knees,  and  poured  forth  her  thanks 
to  Him,  who  had  thus  far  prospered  her  endeavours  to 
minister  to  the  cares  and  sorrows  of  her  lover.  With  a 
calmer  heart  she  sought  repose,  and  wept  herself  to  sleep 
with  almost  happy  tears.  Hansford,  in  the  mean  time, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          289 

pursued  his  quiet  way  through  the  forest,  his  pathway 
sufficiently  illumined  by  the  pale  moonlight,  which  came 
trembling  through  the  moaning  trees.  The  thoughts  of  the 
young  rebel  were  fitfully  gloomy  or  pleasant,  as  despon- 
dency and  hope  alternated  in  his  breast.  In  that  lonely 
walk  he  had  an  opportunity  to  reflect  calmly  and  fully  upon 
his  past  life.  The  present  was  indeed  clouded  with  danger, 
and  the  future  with  uncertainty  and  gloom.  Yet,  in  this 
self-examination,  he  saw  nothing  to  justify  reproach  or  to 
awaken  regret.  He  scanned  his  motives,  and  he  felt  that 
they  were  pure.  He  reviewed  his  acts,  and  he  saw  in  them 
but  the  struggles  of  a  brave,  free  man  in  the  maintenance 
of  the  right.  The  enterprise  in  which  he  had  engaged  had 
indeed  failed,  but  its  want  of  success  did  not  affect  the  holi- 
ness of  the  design.  Even  in  its  failure,  he  proudly  hoped 
that  the  seeds  of  truth  had  been  sown  in  the  popular  mind, 
which  might  hereafter  germinate  and  be  developed  into 
freedom.  As  these  thoughts  passed  through  his  mind,  a 
dim  dream  of  the  future  glories  of  his  country  flashed 
across  him.  The  bright  heaven  of  the  future  seemed  to 
open  before  him,  as  before  the  eyes  of  the  dying  Stephen — 
but  soon  it  closed  again,  and  all  was  dark. 

The  wigwam  which  he  entered,  after  a  walk  of  about 
half  an  hour,  was  desolate  enough,  but  its  very  loneliness 
made  it  a  better  safeguard  against  the  vigilance  of  his  pur- 
suers. He  closed  the  aperture  which  served  for  the  door, 
with  the  large  mat  used  for  the  purpose  ;  then  carefully 
priming  his  pistols,  which  he  kept  constantly  by  him  in  case 
of  surprise,  and  wrapping  his  rough  horseman's  coat  around 
him,  he  flung  himself  upon  a  mat  in  the  centre  of  the  wig- 
wam, and  sank  into  a  profound  slumber. 

25 


200  HANSFORD  I 


CHAPTER  XL. 

"  He  should  be  hereabouts.  The  doubling  hare, 
When  flying  from  the  swift  pursuit  of  hounds, 
Baying  loud  triumph,  leaves  her  wonted  path, 
And  seeks  security  within  her  nest." 

The  Captive. 

ON  the  evening  which  followed  the  events  narrated  in 
the  last  chapter,  a  party  of  half  a  dozen  horsemen  might  be 
seen  riding  leisurely  along  the  road  which  led  to  Windsor 
Hall.  From  their  dress  and  bearing  they  might  at  once  be 
recognized  as  military  men,  and  indeed  it  was  a  detach- 
ment of  the  force  sent  by  Sir  William  Berkeley  in  search 
of  such  of  the  rebels  as  might  be  lurking  in  different  sec- 
tions of  the  country.  At  their  head  was  Alfred  Bernard, 
his  tall  and  graceful  form  well  set  off  by  the  handsome 
military  dress  of  the  period.  Dignified  by  a  captaincy  of 
dragoons,  the  young  intriguer  at  last  thought  himself  on 
the  high  road  to  success,  and  his  whole  course  was  marked 
by  a  zealous  determination  to  deserve  by  his  actions  the 
confidence  reposed  in  him.  For  this  his  temper  and  his 
cold,  selfish  nature  eminently  fitted  him.  The  vindictive 
Governor  had  no  fear  but  that  his  vengeance  would  be 
complete,  so  long  as  Alfred  Bernard  acted  as  his  agent. 

As  the  party  approached  the  house,  Colonel  Temple, 
whose  attention  was  arrested  by  such  an  unusual  appear- 
ance in  the  then  peaceful  state  of  the  country,  came  out  to 
meet  them,  and  with  his  usual  bland  courtesy  invited  them 
in,  at  the  same  time  shaking  Bernard  warmly  by  the  hand. 
The  rough  English  soldiers,  obeying  the  instructions  of 
their  host,  conducted  their  horses  to  the  stable,  while  the 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         291 

young  captain  followed  his  hospitable  entertainer  into  the 
hall.  Around  the  blazing  fire,  which  crackled  and  roared 
in  the  broad  hearth,  the  little  family  were  gathered  to  hear 
the  news. 

"  Prythee,  Captain  Bernard,  for  I  must  not  forget  your 
new  title,"  said  the  colonel,  "what  is  the  cause  of  this  de- 
monstration ?  No  further  trouble  with  the  rebels  ?" 

"  No,  no,"  replied  Bernard,  "  except  to  smoke  the  cow- 
ardly fellows  out  of  their  holes.  In  the  words  of  your  old 
bard,  we  have  only  scotched  the  snake,  not  killed  it — and 
we  are  now  seeking  to  bring  the  knaves  to  justice." 

"And  do  you  find  them  difficult  to  catch?"  said  the 
Colonel.  "  Is  the  scotched  snake  an  'anguis  in  herba  ?' " 

"  Aye,  but  they  cannot  escape  us.  These  worshippers 
of  liberty,  who  would  fain  be  martyrs  to  her  cause,  shall 
not  elude  the  vigilance  of  justice.  I  need  not  add,  that 
you  are  not  the  object  of  our  search,  Colonel." 

"  Scarcely,  my  lad,"  returned  Temple,  with  a  smile,  "for 
my  mythology  has  taught  me,  that  these  kindred  deities 
are  so  nearly  allied  that  the  true  votaries  of  liberty  will 
ever  be  pilgrims  to  the  shrine  of  justice." 

"And  the  pseudo  votaries  of  freedom,"  continued  Ber- 
nard, "who  would  divide  the  sister  goddesses,  should  be 
offered  up  as  a  sacrifice  to  appease  the  neglected  deity. " 

"Well,  maybe  so,"  returned  Temple;  "but  neither  reli- 
gion nor  government  should  demand  human  sacrifices  to  a 
great  extent.  A  few  of  the  prominent  leaders  might  well 
be  cut  off  to  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  rest.  Thus 
the  demands  of  justice  would  be  satisfied,  consistently  with 
clemency  which  mercy  would  dictate." 

"  My  dear  sir,  a  hecatomb  would  not  satisfy  Berkeley. 
I  am  but  his  minister,  and  could  not,  if  I  would,  arrest  his 
arm.  Even  now  I  come  by  his  express  directions  to  ascer- 
tain whether  any  of  the  rebels  may  be  secreted  near  your 
residence.  While  he  does  not  for  a  moment  suspect  your 


292  HANSFORD  : 

loyalty,  yet  one  of  the  villains,  and  he  among  the  foremost 
in  the  rebellion,  has  been  traced  in  this  direction." 

"  Sir,"  cried  Temple,  colouring  with  honest  indignation ; 
"  dare  you  suspect  that  I  could  harbour  a  rebel  beneath  my 
roof  1  But  remember,  that  I  would  as  lief  do  that,  abhor- 
rent though  it  be  to  my  principles,  as  to  harbour  a  spy." 

"My  dear  sir,"  said  Bernard,  softly,  "you  mistake  me 
most  strangely,  if  you  suppose  that  I  could  lodge  such  a 
suspicion  for  a  moment  in  my  heart ;  nor  have  I  come  as  a 
spy  upon  your  privacy,  but  to  seek  your  counsel.  Sir 
William  Berkeley  is  so  well  convinced  of  your  stern  and 
unflinching  faith,  that  he  enjoins  me  to  apply  to  you  early 
for  advice  as  to  how  I  should  proceed  in  my  duty." 

"  Well,  my  dear  boy,"  said  Temple,  relapsing  into  good 
humour,  for  he  was  not  proof  against  the  tempting  bait  of 
flattery,  "  you  must  pardon  the  haste  of  an  old  man,  who 
cannot  bear  any  imputation  upon  his  devotion  to  the  cause 
of  his  royal  master.  While  I  cannot  aid  you  in  your 
search,  my  house  is  freely  open  to  yourself  and  your  party 
for  such  time  as  you  may  think  proper  to  use  it." 

"  You  have  my  thanks,  my  dear  sir,"  said  Bernard,  "  and 
indeed  you  are  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  the  whole  gov- 
ernment. Sir  William  Berkeley  bade  me  say  that  he  could 
never  forget  your  kindness  to  him  and  his  little  band  of 
fugitives  ;  and  Lady  Frances  often  says  that  she  scarcely 
regrets  the  cares  and  anxiety  attending  her  flight,  since 
they  afforded  her  an  opportunity  of  enjoying  the  society  of 
Mrs.  Temple  in  her  own  home,  where  she  so  especially 
shines." 

"Indeed,  we  thank  them  both  most  cordially, "said  Mrs. 
Temple.  "  It  was  a  real  pleasure  to  us  to  have  them,  I 
am  suro ;  and  though  we  hardly  had  time  to  make  them  as 
comfortable  as  they  might  have  been,  yet  a  poor  feast,  sea- 
soned with  a  warm  welcome,  is  fit  for  a  king." 

"  I  trust,"  said  Bernard,  "th^t  Miss  Virginia  unites  with 


A   TALE    OE    BACON'S   REBELLION.  293 

you  iu  the  interest  which  you  profess  in  the  cause  of  loyalty. 
May  I  hope,  that  should  it  ever  be  our  fortune  again  to 
be  thrown  like  stranded  wrecks  upon  your  hospitality,  her 
welcome  will  not  be  wanting  to  our  happiness." 

"It  will  always  give  me  pleasure,"  said  Virginia,  "  to 
welcome  the  guests  of  my  parents,  and  to  add,  as  far  as  I 
can,  to  their  comfort,  whoever  they  may  be — more  particu- 
larly when  those  guests  are  among  my  own  special  friends." 

"  Of  which  number  I  am  proud  to  consider  myself, 
though  unworthy  of  such  an  honour,"  said  Bernard.  "  But 
excuse  me  for  a  few  moments,  ladies,  I  have  somewhat  to 
say  to  my  sergeant  before  dinner.  I  will  return  anon — as 
soon  as  possible  ;  but  you  know,  Colonel,  duty  should  ever 
be  first  served,  and  afterwards  pleasure  may  be  indulged. 
Duty  is  the  prim  old  wife,  who  must  be  duly  attended  to, 
and  then  Pleasure,  the  fair  young  damsel,  may  claim  her 
share  of  our  devotion.  Aye,  Colonel  ?" 

"  Nay,  if  you  enter  the  marriage  state  with  such  ideas  of 
its  duties  as  that,"  returned  the  Colonel,  smiling,  "I  rather 
think  you  will  have  a  troublesome  career  before  you.  But 
your  maxim  is  true,  though  clothed  in  an  allegory  a  little 
too  licentious.  So,  away  with  you,  my  boy,  and  return  as 
soon  as  you  can,  for  I  have  much  to  ask  you." 

Released  from  the  restraints  imposed  by  the  presence  of 
the  Colonel  and  the  ladies,  Bernard  rubbed  his  hands  and 
chuckled  inwardly  as  he  went  in  search  of  his  sergeant. 

"I  am  pretty  sure  we  are  on  the  right  scent,  "Holliday," 
he  said,  addressing  a  tall,  strapping  old  soldier  of  about  six 
feet  in  height.  "  This  prejudiced  old  steed  seemed  disposed 
to  kick  before  he  was  spurred — and,  indeed,  if  he  knew 
nothing  himself,  there  is  a  pretty  little  hind  here,  who  I'll 
warrant  is  riot  so  ignorant  of  the  hiding-place  of  her  young 
hart." 

"  But  I  tell  you  what,  Cap'n,  it's  devilish  hard  to  worm 
a  secret  out  of  these  women  kind.     They'll  tell  any  body 
25* 


294  HANSFORD: 

0 

else's  secret,  fast  enough,  but  d — n  me  if  it  don't  seem  as  how 
they  only  do  that  to  give  more  room  to  keep  their  own." 

"  Well,  we  must  try  at  any  rate.  It  is  not  for  you  to 
oppose  with  your  impertinent  objections  what  I  may  choose 
order.  I  hope  you  are  soldier  enough  to  have  learned  that 
it  is  only  your  duty  to  obey." 

"  Oh  !  yes,  Cap'n.  I've  learned  that  lesson  long  ago — 
and  what's  more,  I  learned  it  on  horseback,  but,  faith,  it 
was  one  of  those  wooden  steeds  that  made  me  do  all  the 
travelling.  Why,  Lord  bless  me,  to  obey  !  It's  one  of 
my  ten  commandments.  I've  got  it  written  in  stripes 
that's  legible  on  my  shoulders  now.  '  Obey  your  officers 
in  all  things  that  your  days  may  be  long  and  your  back 
unskinned.'  " 

"Well,  stop  your  intolerable  nonsense,"  said  Bernard, 
"and  hear  what  I  would  say.  We  stay  here  to-night. 
There  is  an  Indian  girl  who  lives  here,  a  kind  of  upper 
servant.  You  must  manage  to  see  her  and  talk  with  her. 
But  mind,  nothing  of  our  object,  or  your  tongue  shall  be 
blistered  for  it.  Tell  her  that  I  wish  to  see  her,  beneath 
the  old  oak  tree  to  night,  at  ten  o'clock.  If  she  refuses, 
tell  her  to  'remember  Berkenhead.'  These  words  will  act 
as  a  charm  upon  her.  Remember — Hush,  here  comes  the 
Colonel." 

It  will  be  remembered  by  the  reader  that  the  magic  of 
these  two  words,  which  were  to  have  such  an  influence  upon 
the  young  Mamalis,  was  due  to  the  shrewd  suspicion  of 
Alfred  Bernard,  insinuated  at  the  time,  that  she  was  the 
assassin  of  the  ill-fated  Berkenhead.  By  holding  this  simple 
rod,  in  terrorem,  over  the  poor  girl,  Bernard  now  saw  that 
he  might  wield  immense  power  over  her,  and  if  the  secret 
of  Hansford's  hiding-place  had  been  confided  to  her,  he 
might  easily  extort  it  either  by  arousing  her  vengeance  once 
more,  or  in  default  of  that  by  a  menace  of  exposure  and 
punishment  for  the  murder.  But  first  he  determined  to  see 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          295 

Virginia,  and  make  his  peace  with  her ;  and  under  the 
plausible  guise  of  sympathy  in  her  distress  and  pity  for 
Hansford,  to  excite  in  her  an  interest  in  his  behalf,  even 
while  he  was  plotting  the  ruin  of  her  lover. 

With  his  usual  pliancy  of  manner,  and  control  over  his 
feelings,  he  engaged  in  conversation  with  Colonel  Temple, 
humouring  the  well-known  prejudices  of  the  old  gentleman, 
and  by  a  little  dexterous  flattery  winning  over  the  unsus- 
picious old  lady  to  his  favor.  Even  Virginia,  though  her 
heart  misgave  her  from  the  first  that  the  arrival  of  Bernard 
boded  no  good  to  her  lover,  was  deceived  by  his  plausible 
manners  and  attracted  by  his  brilliant  conversation.  So 
the  tempter,  with  the  graceful  crest,  and  beautiful  colours 
of  the  subtle  serpent  beguiled  Eve  far  more  effectually, 
than  if  in  his  own  shape  he  had  attempted  to  convince  her 
by  the  most  specious  sophisms. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

"  Was  ever  woman  in  this  humour  wooed  ?" 

Richard  III. 

DINNER  being  over,  the  gentlemen  remained  according 
to  the  good  old  custom,  to  converse  over  their  wine,  while 
Virginia  retired  to  the  quiet  little  parlour,  and  with  some 
favourite  old  author  tried  to  beguile  her  thoughts  from  the 
bitter  fears  which  she  felt  for  the  safety  of  Hansford.  But  it 
was  all  in  vain.  Her  eyes  often  wandered  from  her  book,  and 
fixed  upon  the  blazing,  hickory  fire,  she  was  lost  in  a  painful 
reverie.  As  she  weighed  in  her  mind  the  many  chances  in 
favour  of,  and  against  his  escape,  she  turned  in  her  trouble 


296  HANSFOBD: 

to  Him,  who  alone  could  rescue  her,  and  with  the  tears 
streaming  down  her  pale  cheeks,  she  murmured  in  bitter 
accents,  "  Oh,  Lord  !  in  Thee  have  I  trusted,  let  me  never 
be  confounded."  Even  while  she  spoke,  she  was  surprised 
to  hear  immediately  behind  her,  the  well-known  voice  of 
Alfred  Bernard,  for  so  entirely  lost  had  she  been  in  medi- 
tation that  she  had  not  heard  his  step  as  he  entered  the 
room. 

"  Miss  Temple,  and  in  tears  1"  he  said,  with  well  assumed 
surprise.  "  What  can  have  moved  you  thus,  Virginia  ?" 

"Alas  !  Mr.  Bernard,  you  who  have  known  my  history 
and  my  troubles  for  the  last  few  bitter  months,  cannot  be 
ignorant  that  I  have  much  cause  for  sadness.  But,"  she 
added,  with  a  faint  attempt  to  smile,  "  had  I  known  of  your 
presence,  I  would  not  have  sought  to  entertain  you  with 
my  sorrows." 

"  The  troubles  that  you  speak  of  are  passed,  Miss  Tem- 
ple," said  Bernard,  affecting  to  misunderstand  her,  "  and  as 
the  Colony  begins  to  smile  again  in  the  beams  of  returning 
peace,  you,  fair  Yifginia,  should  also  smile  in  sympathy 
with  your  namesake." 

"  Mr.  Bernard,  you  must  jest.  You  at  least  should  have 
known,  ere  this,  that  my  individual  sorrows  trre  not  so 
dependent  upon  the  political  condition  of  the  Colony.  You 
at  least  should  have  known,  sir,  that  the  very  peace  you 
boast  of  may  be  the  knell  of  hopes  more  dear  to  a  woman's 
heart  than  even  the  glory  and  welfare  of  her  country." 

"Miss  Temple,"  returned  Bernard,  with  a  grave  voice, 
"  since  you  are  determined  to  treat  seriously  what  I  have 
said,  I  will  change  my  tone.  Though  you  choose  to  doubt 
my  sincerity,  I  must  express  the  deep  sympathy  which  I 
feel  in  your  sorrows,  even  though  I  know  that  these  sorrows 
are  induced  by  your  apprehensions  for  the  fate  of  a  rival. " 

"  And  that  sympathy,  sir,  is  illustrated  by  your  present 
actions,"  said  Virginia,  bitterly.  "  You  would  be  at  the 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          29t 

same  time  the  Judean  robber  and  the  good  Samaritan,  and 
while  inflicting  a  deadly  wound  upon  your  victim,  and  strip- 
ping him  of  cherished  hopes,  you  would  administer  the  oil 
and  wine  of  your  mocking  sympathy." 

"  I  might  choose  to  misunderstand  your  unkind  allusions, 
Miss  Temple,"  replied  Bernard,  "but  there  is  no  need  of 
concealment  between  us.  You  have  rightly  judged  the 
object  of  my  mission,  but  in  this  I  act  as  the  officer  of 
government,  not  as  the  ungenerous  rival  of  Major  Hansford." 

"  So  does  the  public  executioner,"  replied  Virginia,  "but 
I  am  not  aware  that  in  its  civil  and  military  departments 
as  well  as  in  the  navy,  our  government  impresses  men  into 
her  service  against  their  will." 

"  You  seem  determined  to  misunderstand  me,  Virginia," 
said  Alfred,  with  some  warmth  ;  "  but  you  shall  learn  that 
I  am  not  capable  of  the  want  of  generosity  which  you 
attribute  to  me.  Know  then,  that  it  was  from  a  desire  to 
serve  you  personally  through  your  friend,  that  I  urged  the 
governor  to  let  me  come  in  pursuit  of  Major  Hansford. 
Suppose,  instead,  he  should  fall  in  the  hands  of  Beverley. 
Cruel  and  relentless  as  that  officer  has  already  shown  him- 
self to  be,  his  prisoner  would  suffer  every  indignity  and  per- 
secution, even  before  he  was  delivered  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  Sir  William  Berkeley — while  in  me,  as  his  captor,  you 
may  rest  assured  that  for  your  sake,  he  would  meet  with 
kindness  and  indulgence,  and  even  my  warm  mediation  with 
the  governor  in  his  behalf." 

"  Oh,  then,"  cried  Virginia,  trusting  words  so  softly  and 
plausibly  spoken,  "if  you  are  indeed  impelled  by  a  motive 
so  generous  and  disinterested,  it  is  still  in  your  power  to 
save  him.  Your  influence  with  the  Governor  is  known, 
and  one  word  from  your  lips  might  control  the  fate  of  a 
brave  man,  and  restore  happiness  and  peace  to  a  broken- 
hearted girl.  Oh!  would  not  this  amply  compensate  even 
for  the  neglect  of  duty  ?  Would  it  not  be  far  nobler  to 


298  HANSFORD: 

secure  the  happiness  of  two  grateful  hearts,  than  to  shed 
the  blood  of  a  brave  and  generous  man,  and  to  wade 
through  that  red  stream  to  success  and  fame  ?  Believe 
me,  Mr.  Bernard,  when  you  come  to  die,  the  recollection 
of  such  an  act  will  be  sweeter  to  your  soul  than  all  the 
honour  and  glory  which  an  admiring  posterity  could  heap 
above  your  cold,  insensate  ashes.  If  I  am  any  thing  to 
you;  if  my  happiness  would  be  an  object  of  interest  to 
your  heart;  and  if  my  love,  my  life-long  love,  would  be 
worthy  of  your  acceptance,  they  are  yours.  Forgive  the 
boldness,  the  freedom  with  which  I  have  spoken.  It  may 
be  unbecoming  in  a  young  girl,  but  let  it  be  another  proof 
of  the  depth,  the  sincerity  of  my  feelings,  when  I  can  forget 
a  maiden's  delicacy  in  the  earnestness  of  my  plea. " 

It  was  impossible  not  to  be  moved  with  the  earnest  and 
touching  manner  of  the  weeping  girl,  as  with  clasped  hands 
and  streaming  eyes,  she  almost  knelt  to  Bernard  in  the 
fervent  earnestness  of  her  feelings.  Machiavellian  as  he 
was,  and  accustomed  to  disguise  his  heart,  the  young  man 
was  for  a  moment  almost  dissuaded  from  his  design. 
Taking  Yirginia  gently  by  the  hand,  he  begged  her  to  be 
calm.  But  the  feeling  of  generosity  which  for  a  moment 
gleamed  on  his  heart,  like  a  brief  sunbeam  on  a  stormy 
day,  gave  way  to  the  wonted  selfishness  with  which  that 
heart  was  clouded. 

"  And  can  you  still  cling  with  such  tenacity  to  a  man 
who  has  proven  himself  so  unworthy  of  you,"  he  said  ;  "  to 
one  who  has  long  since  sacrificed  you  to  his  own  fanatical 
purposes.  Even  should  he  escape  the  fate  which  awaits 
him,  he  can  never  be  yours.  Your  own  independence  of 
feeling,  your  father's  prejudices,  every  thing  conspires  to 
prevent  a  union  so  unnatural.  Hansford  may  live,  but  he 
can  never  live  to  be  your  husband. " 

"  Who  empowered  you  to  prohibit  thus  boldly  the  bans 


A   TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  299 

between  us,  and  to  dissolve  our  plighted  troth  ?"  said  Yir- 
ginia,  with  indignation. 

"  You  again  mistake  me,"  replied  Bernard.  "  God  for- 
bid that  I  should  thus  intrude  upon  what  surely  concerns 
me  not.  I  only  expressed,  my  dear  friend,  what  you  know 
full  well,  that  whatever  be  the  fate  of  Major  Hansford,  you 
can  never  marry  him.  Why,  then,  this  strange  interest  in 
his  fate  ?" 

"  And  can  you  think  thus  of  woman's  love  ?  Can  you 
suppose  that  her  heart  is  so  selfish  that,  because  her  own 
cherished  hopes  are  blasted,  she  can  so  soon  forget  and 
coldly  desert  one  who  has  first  awakened  those  sweet 
hopes,  and  who  is  now  in  peril  ?  Believe  me,  Mr.  Ber- 
nard, dear  as  I  hold  that  object  to  my  soul,  sad  and  weary 
as  life  would  be  without  one  who  had  made  it  so  happy,  I 
would  freely,  aye,  almost  cheerfully  yield  his  love,  and  be 
banished  for  ever  from  his  presence,  if  I  could  but  save  his 
life." 

"  You  are  a  noble  girl,"  said  Alfred,  with  admiration ; 
"and  teach  me  a  lesson  that  too  few  have  learned,  that 
love  is  never  selfish.  But,  yet,  I  cannot  relinquish  the 
sweet  reward  which  you  have  promised  for  my  efforts  in 
behalf  of  Hansford.  Then  tell  me  once  more,  dear  girl,  if 
I  arrest  the  hand  of  justice  which  now  threatens  his  life ; 
if  he  be  once  more  restored  to  liberty  and  security,  would 
you  reward  his  deliverer  ^ith  your  love  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes  !"  cried  the  trusting  girl,  mistaking  his  mean- 
ing ;  "and  more,  I  would  pledge  his  lasting  gratitude  and 
affection  to  his  generous  preserver." 

"Nay,"  said  Bernard,  rather  coldly,  "that  would  not 
add  much  inducement  to  me.  But  you,"  Virginia,"  he 
added,  passionately,  "  would  you  be  mine — would  the 
bright  dream  of  my  life  be  indeed  realized,  and  might  I 
enshrine  you  in  my  faithful  heart,  as  a  sacred  idol,  to 
whom  in  hourly  adoration  I  might  bow  ?" 


300  HANSFORD  : 

"  How  mean  you,  sir,"  exclaimed  Virginia,  with  surprise. 
"  I  fear  you  have  misunderstood  my  words.  My  love,  my 
gratitude,  my  friendship,  I  promised,  but  not  my  heart. " 

"  Then,  indeed,  am  I  strangely  at  fault,"  said  Bernard, 
with  a  sneering  laugh.  "  The  love  you  would  "bestow, 
would  be  such  as  you  would  feel  towards  the  humblest 
boor,  who  had  done  you  a  service  ;  and  your  gratitude  but 
the  natural  return  which  any  human  being  would  make  to 
the  dog  who  saves  his  life.  Nay,  mistress  mine,  not  so 
platonic,  if  you  please.  Think  you  that,  for  so  cold  a 
feeling  as  friendship  and  gratitude,  I  would  rescue  this 
skulking  bound  from  the  lash  of  his  master,  which  he  so 
richly  deserves,  or  from  the  juster  doom  of  the  craven  cur, 
the  rope  and  gallows.  No,  Virginia  Temple,  there  is  no 
longer  any  need  of  mincing  matters  between  us.  It  is  a 
simple  question  of  bargain  and  sale.  You  have  said  that 
you  would  renounce  the  love  of  Hansford  to  save  his 
life.  Very  well,  one  step  more  and  all  is  accomplished. 
The  boon  I  ask,  as  the  reward  of  my  services,  is  your 
heart,  or  at  least  your  hand.  Yield  but  this,  and  I  will 
arrest  the  malice  of  that  doting  old  knight,  who,  with  his 
fantastic  tricks,  has  made  the  angels  laugh  instead  of  weep. 
Deny  me,  and  by  my  troth,  Thomas  Hansford  meets  a 
traitor's  doom." 

So  complete  was  the  revulsion  of  feeling  from  the  almost 
certainty  of  success,  to  the  despair  and  indignation  induced 
by  so  base  a  proposition,  that  it  was  some  moments  before 
Virginia  Temple  could  speak.  Bernard  mistaking  the 
cause  of  her  silence,  deemed  that  she  was  hesitating  as  to 
her  course,  and  pursuing  his  supposed  advantage,  he  added, 
tenderly, — "  Cheer,  up  Virginia  ;  cheer  up,  my  bride.  I 
read  in  those  silent  tears  your  answer.  I  know  the  strug- 
gle is  hard,  and  I  love  you  the  more  that  it  is  so.  It  is  an 
earnest  of  your  future  constancy.  In  a  short  time  the  trial 
will  be  over,  and  we  will  learn  to  forget  our  sorrows  in  our 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          301 

love.  He  who  is  so  unworthy  of  you  will  have  sought  in 
some  distant  land  solace  for  your  loss,  which  will  be  easily 
attained  by  his  pliant  nature.  A  traitor  to  his  country, 
will  not  long  inourn  the  loss  of  his  bride  " 

"  'Tis  thou  who  art  the  traitor,  dissembling  hypocrite," 
cried  Virginia,  vehemently.  "  Think  you  that  my  silence 
arose  from  a  moment's  consideration  of  your  base  proposi- 
tion ?  I  was  stunned  at  beholding  such  a  monster  in  the 
human  form.  But  I  defy  you  yet.  The  governor  shall 
learn  how  the  fawning  favourite  of  his  palace,  tears  the 
hand  that  feeds  him — and  those  who  can  protect  me  from 
your  power,  shall  chastise  your  insolence.  Instead  of  the 
love  and  gratitude  I  promised,  there,  take  my  lasting  hate 
and  scorn." 

And  the  young  girl  proudly  rising  erect  as  she  spoke, 
her  eyes  flashing,  but  tearless,  her  bosom  heaving  with  in- 
dignation, her  nostrils  dilated,  and  her  hand  extended  in 
bitter  contempt  towards  the  astonished  Bernard,  shouted, 
"Father,  father !"  until  the  hall  rung  with  the  sound. 

Happily  for  Alfred  Bernard,  Colonel  Temple  and  his 
wife  had  left  the  house  for  a  few  moments,  on  a  visit  to  old 
Giles1  cabin,  the  old  man  having  been  laid  up  with  a  vio- 
lent attack  of  the  rheumatics.  The  wily  intriguer  was  for 
once  caught  in  his  own  springe.  He  had  overacted  his 
part,  and  had  grossly  mistaken  the  character  of  the  brave 
young  girl,  whom  he  had  so  basely  insulted.  He  felt  that 
if  he  lost  a  moment,  the  house  would  be  alarmed,  and  his 
miserable  hypocrisy  exposed.  Rushing  to  Virginia,  he 
whispered,  in  an  agitated  voice,  which  he  failed  to  control 
with  his  usual  self-command, 

"For. God's  sake,  be  silent.  I  acknowledge  I  have  done 
wrong ;  but  I  will  explain.  Remember  Hansford's  life  is 
in  your  hands.  Come,  now,  deap  Virginia,  sit  you  down, 
I  will  save  him." 

The  proud  expression  of  scorn  died  away  from  the  curled 
26 


302  HANSFORD  : 

lips  of  the  girl,  and  interest  in  her  lover's  fate  again  took 
entire  possession  of  her  heart.  She  paused  and  listened. 
The  wily  Jesuit  had  again  conquered,  and  He  who  rules 
the  universe  with  such  mysterious  justice,  had  permitted 
evil  once  more  to  triumph  over  innocence. 

"  Yes,"  repeated  Bernard,  regaining  his  composure  with 
his  success  ;  "  I  will  save  him.  I  mistook  your  character, 
Miss  Temple.  1  had  thought  you  the  simple-hearted  girl, 
who  for  the  sake  of  her  lover's  life  would  sell  her  heart  to 
his  preserver.  I  now  recognize  in  you  the  high-spirited 
woman,  who,  conscious  of  right,  would  meet  her  own  des- 
pair in  its  defence.  Alas !  in  thus  losing  you  for  ever,  I 
have  just  found  you  possessed  of  qualities  which  make  you 
doubly  worthy  to  be  won.  But  I  resign  you  to  him  whom 
you  have  chosen,  and  in  my  admiration  for  the  woman,  I 
have  almost  lost  my  hatred  for  the  man.  For  your  sake, 
Miss  Temple,  Major  Hansford  shall  not  want  my  warm 
interposition  with  the  Governor  in  his .  behalf.  Let  my 
reward  be  your  esteem  or  your  contempt,  it  is  still  my 
duty  thus  to  atone  for  the  wound  which  I  have  unfortu- 
nately inflicted  on  your  feelings.  You  will  excuse  and 
respect  my  wish  to  end  this  painful  interview." 

And  so  he  left  the  room,  and  Virginia  once  more  alone, 
gave  vent  to  her  emotions  so  long  suppressed,  in  a  flood 
of  bitter  tears. 

"  Well,  Holliday,"  said  Bernard,  as  he  met  that  worthy 
in  the  hall,  "  I  hope  you  have  been  more  fortunate  with  the 
red  heifer  than  I  with  the  white  hind — what  says  Mamalis  ?' 

"  The  fact  is,  Cap'n,  that  same  heifer  is  about  as  trouble- 
some a  three  year  old  as  I  ever  had  the  breaking  on.  She 
seemed  bent  on  hooking  me." 

"  Did  you  not  make  use  of  the  talisman  I  told  you  of?" 
asked  Bernard.  • 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  what  you  call  a  tell-us-man,"  said 
Holliday,  "  but  I  told  her  that  you  said  she  must  remember 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.         303 

B.ickiuliead,  and  I'll  warrant  it  was  tell-us-woman  soon 
enough.  Bless  me,  if  she  didn't  most  turn  white,  for  all 
her  red  skin,  and  she  got  the  trimbles  so  that  I  began  to 
think  she  was  going  to  have  the  high-strikes — and  so  says 
she  at  last ;  says  she,  in  kind  of  choking  voice  like,  '  Well, 
tell  him  I  will  meet  him  under  the  oak  tree,  as  he  wishes.'" 

"  Yery  well,"  said  Bernard,  "we  will  succeed  yet,  and 
then  your  hundred  pounds  are  made — my  share  is  yours 
already  if  you  be  but  faithful  to  me — I  am  convinced  he 
has  been  here,"  he  continued,  musing,  and  half  unconscious 
of  Holliday's  presence.  "  The  hopeful  interest  that  Yir- 
ginia  feels,  her  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  he  still  lives  and 
is  at  large,  and  the  apprehensions  which  mingle  with  her 
hopes,  all  convince  me  that  I'm  on  the  right  track.  Well, 
I'll  spoil  a  pretty  love  affair  yet,  before  it  approaches  its 
consummation.  Fine  girl,  too,  and  a  pity  to  victimize  her. 
Bless  me,  how  majestic  she  looked  ;  with  what  a  queen-like 
scorn  she  treated  me,  the  cold,  insensate  intriguer,  as  they 
call  me.  I  begin  to  love  her  almost  as  much  as  I  love  her 
land — but,  beware,  Alfred  Bernard,  love  might  betray  you. 
My  game  is  a  bold  and  desperate  one,  but  the  stake  for 
which  I  play  repays  the  risk.  By  God,  I'll  have  her  yet; 
she  shall  learn  to  bow  her  proud  head,  and  to  love  me  too 
— and  then  the  fair  fields  of  Windsor  Hall  will  not  be  less 
fertile  for  the  price  which  I  pay  for  them  in  a  rival's  blood 
— and  such  a  rival.  He  scorned  and  defied  me  when  the 
overtures  of  peace  were  extended  to  him ;  let  him  look  to 
it,  that  in  rejecting  the  olive,  he  has  not  planted  the  cypress 
in  its  stead.  Thus  revenge  is  united  with  policy  in  the 
attainment  of  my  object,  and — What  are  you  staring  at, 
you  gaping  idiot?"  he  cried,  seeing  the  big,  pewter 
coloured  eyes  of  Holliday  fixed  upon  him  in  mute  aston- 
ishment. 

"  Why,  Cap'n,  damme  if  I  don't  believe  you  are  talking 
in  your  sleep  with  your  eyes  open." 


304  HANSFOBD 1 

"  And  what  did  you  hear  me  say,  knave  ?" 

"  Oh,  nothing  that  will  ever  go  the  farther  for  my  hearing 
it.  It's  all  one  to  me  whether  you're  working  for  your 
country  or  yourself  in  this  matter,  so  long  as  my  pretty 
pounds  are  none  the  less  heavy  and  safe." 

"  I'm  working  for  both,  you  fool,"  returned  Bernard. 
"  Did  you  ever  know  a  general  or  a  patriot  who  did  not 
seek  to  serve  himself  as  well  as  his  country  ?" 

"  Well,  no,"  retorted  the  soldier,  "for  what  the  world 
calls  honour,  and  what  the  rough  soldier  calls  money,  is  at 
last  only  different  kinds  of  coin  of  the  same  metal." 

"  Well,  hush  your  impudence,"  said  Bernard,  "  and  mind, 
not  a  word  of  what  you  have  heard,  or  you  shall  feel  my 
power  as  well  as  others.  In  the  meantime,  here  is  a  golden 
key  to  lock  your  lips,"  and  he  handed  the  fellow  a  sovereign, 
which  he  greedily  accepted. 

"  Thank  you,  Cap'n,"  said  Holliday,  touching  his  hat 
and  pocketing  the  money ;  "  you  need  not  be  afraid  of  me, 
for  I've  seen  tricks  in  my  time  worth  two  of  that.  And 
for  the  matter  of  taking  this  yellow  boy,  which  might  look 
to  some  like  hush-money,  the  only  difference  between  the 
patriot  and  me  is,  that  he  gets  paid  for  opening  his  mouth, 
and  I  for  keeping  mine  shut." 

"  You  are  a  saucy  knave,"  said  Bernard,  reassured  by 
the  fellow's  manner;  "and  I'll  warrant  you  never  served 
under  old  Noll's  Puritan  standard.  But  away  with  you, 
and  remember  to  be  in  place  at  ten  o'clock  to-night,  and 
come  to  me  at  this  signal,"  and  he  gave  a  shrill  whistle, 
which  Holliday  promised  to  understand  and  obey. 

And  so  they  separated,  Bernard  to  while  away  the  tedious 
hours,  by  conversing  with  the  old  Colonel,  and  by  endea- 
vouring to  reinstate  himself  in  the  good  opinion  of  Vir- 
ginia, while  Holliday  repaired  to  the  kitchen,  where,  in 
company  with  his  comrades  and  the  white  servants  of  the 
hall,  he  emptied  about  a  half  gallon  of  brown  October  ale. 


A   TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  305 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

"  He  sat  her  on  a  milk-white  steed, 

Arid  himself  upon  a  grey  ; 
He  never  turned  his  face  again, 
But  he  bore  her  quite  away." 

The  Knight  of  the  Burning  Pestle. 

"  Ohj  woe  is  me  for  Gerrard  !     I  hare  brought 
Confusion  on  the  noblest  gentleman 
That  ever  truly  loved." 

The  Triumph  of  Love. 

THE  night,  though  only  starry,  was  scarce  less  lovely  for 
the  absence  of  the  moon.  So  bright  indeed  was  the  milky 
way,  the  white  girdle,  with  which  the  night  adorns  her 
azure  robe,  that  you  might  almost  imagine  the  moon  had 
not  disappeared,  but  only  melted  and  diffused  itself  in  the 
milder  radiance  of  that  fair  circlet. 

As  was  always  the  custom  in  the  country,  the.family  had 
retired  at  an  early  hour,  and  Bernard  quietly  left  the 
house  to  fulfil  his  engagement  with  Mamalis.  They  stood, 
he  and  the  Indian  girl,  beneath  the  shade  of  the  old  oak, 
so  often  mentioned  in  the  preceding  pages.  With  his 
handsome  Spanish  cloak  of  dark  velvet  plush,  thrown  grace- 
fully over  his  shoulders,  his  hat  looped  up  and  fastened  in 
front  with  a  gold  button,  after  the  manner  of  the  times, 
Alfred  Bernard  stood  with  folded  arms,  irresolute  as  to 
how  he  should  commence  a  conversation  so  important,  and 
requiring  such  delicate  address.  Mamalis  stood  before  him, 
with  that  air  of  nameless  but  matchless  grace  so  peculiar 
to  those,  who  unconstrained  by  the  arts  and  affectations  of 
society,  assume  the  attitude  of  ease  and  beauty  which  nature 
26* 


306  HANSFORD : 

can  alone  suggest.  She  watched  him  with  a  look  of  eager- 
ness, anxious  on  her  part  for  the  silence  to  be  broken,  that 
she  might  learn  the  meaning  and  the  object  of  this  strange 
interview. 

Alfred  Bernard  was  too  skilful  an  intriguer  to  broach 
abruptly  the  subject  which,  most  absorbed  his  thoughts,  and 
which  had  made  him  seek  this  interview,  and  when  at  last 
he  spoke,  Mamalis  was  at  a  loss  to  guess  what  there  was  in 
the  commonplaces  which  he  used,  that  could  be  of  interest 
to  him.  But  the  wily  hypocrite  led  her  on  step  by  step, 
until  gradually  and  almost  unconsciously  to  herself  he  had 
fully  developed  his  wishes. 

"  You  live  here  altogether,  now,  do  you  not  ?"  he  asked, 
kindly. 

"Yes." 

"  Are  they  kind  to  you  ?" 

"  Oh  yes,  they  are  kind  to  all." 

"  And  you  are  happy  ?" 

"  Yes,  as  happy  as  those  can  be  who  are  left  alone  on 
earth." 

"  What !  are  there  none  of  your  family  now  living  ?" 

"  No,  no  !"  she  replied,  bitterly  ;  "the  blood  of  Powha- 
tan  now  runs  in  this  narrow  channel,"  and  she  held  out  her 
graceful  arms,  as  she  spoke,  with  an  expressive  gesture. 

"Alas!  I  pity  you,"  said  Bernard,  sighing.  "We  are 
alike  in  this — for  my  blood  is  reduced  to  as  narrow  a  chan- 
nel as  your  own.  But  your  family  was  very  numerous  ?" 

"  Yes,  numerous  as  those  stars — and  bright  and  beautiful 
as  they. " 

"  Judging  from  the  only  Pleiad  that  remains,"  thought 
Bernard,  "you  may  well  say  so — and  can  you,"  he  added, 
aloud,  "forgive  those  who  have  thus  injured  you  ?" 

"  Forgive,  oh  yes,  or  how  shall  I  be  forgiven  !  Look 
at  those  stars !  They  shine  the  glory  of  the  night.  They 
vanish  before  the  sun  of  the  morning.  So  faded  my  people 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          30f 

before  the  arms  of  the  white  man — and  yet  I  can  freely 
forgive  them  all  1" 

"  What,  even  those  who  have  quenched  those  stars  1" 
said  Bernard,  with  a  sinister  meaning  in  his  tone. 

"You  mistake,"  replied  Mamalis,  touchingly.  "  They 
are  not  quenched.  The  stars  we  see  to-night,  though  un- 
seen on  the  morrow,  are  still  in  heaven." 

"Nay,  Mamalis,"  said  Bernard,  "the  creed  of  your 
fathers  taught  not  thus.  I  thought  the  Indian  maxim  was 
that  blood  alone  could  wipe  out  the  stain  of  blood." 

"  I  love  the  Christian  lesson  better,"  said  Mamalis,  softly. 
"  And  you,  Mr.  Bernard,  should  not  try  to  shake  my  new 
born  faith.  '  Love  your  enemies — bless  them  that  curse 
you — pray  for  them  that  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute 
you — that  you  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father  which  is 
in  heaven.'  The  orphan  girl  on  earth  would  love  to  be  the 
child  of  her  father  in  heaven. " 

The  sweet  simplicity  with  which  the  poor  girl  thus 
referred  to  the  precepts  and  promises  of  her  new  religion, 
derived  more  touching  beauty  from  the  broken  English 
with  which  she  expressed  them.  An  attempt  to  describe  her 
manner  and  accent  would  be  futile,  and  would  detract  from 
the  simple  dignity  and  sweetness  with  which  she  uttered 
the  words.  We  leave  the  reader  from  his  own  imagination 
to  fill  up  the  picture  which  we  can  only  draw  in  outline. 
Bernard  saw  and  felt  the  power  of  religion  in  the  heart  of 
this  poor  savage,  and  he  hesitated  what  course  he  should 
pursue.  He  knew  that  her  strongest  feeling  in  life  had 
been  her  affection  for  her  brother.  That  had  been  the 
chord  which  earliest  vibrated  in  her  heart,  and  which  as 
her  heart  expanded  only  increased  in  tension  that  added 
greater  sweetness  to  its  tone.  It  was  on  this  broken  string, 
so  rudely  snapped  asunder,  that  he  resolved  to  play — 
hoping  thus  to  strike  some  harsh  and  discordant  notes  in 
her  gentle  heart. 


308  HANSFORD: 

"  You  had  a  brother,  Mamalis,"  he  said,  abruptly ;  "  the 
voice  of  your  brother's  blood  calls  to  you  from  the  ground." 

"  My  brother  1"  shrieked  the  girl,  startled  by  the  sudden- 
ness of  the  allusion. 

"  Aye,  your  murdered  brother,"  said  Bernard,  marking 
with  pleasure  the  effect  he  had  produced,  "  and  it  is  in  your 
power  to  avenge  his  death.  Dare  you  do  it  ?" 

"  Oh,  my  brother,  my  poor  lost  brother,"  she  sobbed, 
the  stoical  indifference  of  the  savage,  pressed  out  by  the 
crushed  heart  of  the  sister,  "  if  by  this  hand  thy  death 
could  be  avenged." 

"By  your  hand  he  can  be  avenged,"  said  Bernard,  seeing 
her  pause.  "It  has  not  yet  been  done.  That  stupid 
knave,  in  a  moment  of  vanity,  claimed  for  himself  the  praise 
of  having  murdered  a  chieftain,  but  the  brave  Manteo  fell 
by  more  noble  hands  than  his." 

"In  God's  name,  who  do  you  mean  ?"  asked  Mamalis. 

"  I  can  only  tell  you  that  it  is  now  in  your  power  to 
surrender  his  murderer  to  justice,  and  to  his  deserved  fate." 

Mamalis  was  silent.  She  guessed  that  it  was  Hans- 
ford  to  whom  Bernard  had  thus  vaguely  alluded.  The 
struggle  seemed  to  be  a  desperate  one.  There  in  the  clear 
starlight,  with  none  to  help,  save  Him,  in  whom  she  had 
learned  to  trust,  she  wrestled  with  the  tempter.  But  that' 
dark  scene  of  her  life,  which  still  threw  its  shadow  on  her 
redeemed  heart,  again  rose  up  before  her  memory.  The 
lesson  was  a  blessed  one.  How  often  thus  does  the  recol- 
lection of  a  former  sin  guard  the  soul  from  error  in  the 
future.  Surely,  in  this,  too,  God  has  made  the  wrath  of 
man  to  praise  him.  With  the  aid  thus  given  from  on  high, 
the  trusting  soul  of  Mamalis  triumphed  over  temptation. 

"I  know  not  why  you  tempt  me  thus,  Mr.  Bernard,"  she 
said,  more  calmly,  "  nor  why  you  have  brought  me  here  to- 
night. But  this  I  know,  that  I  have  learned  that  ven- 
geance belongs  to  God.  It  were  a  crime  for  morta  man, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          309 

frail  at  best,  to  usurp  the  right  of  God.  My  brother  is 
already  fearfully  avenged." 

Twice  beaten  in  his  attempt  to  besiege  the  strong  heart 
of  the  poor  Indian,  by  stratagem,  the  wily  Bernard  deter- 
mined to  pursue  a  more  determined  course,  and  to  take  the 
resisting  citadel  by  a  coup  d'etat.  He  argued,  and  argued 
rightly,  that  a  sudden  charge  would  surprise  her  into 
betraying  a  knowledge  of  Hansford's  movements.  No 
sooner,  therefore,  had  the  last  words  fallen  from  her  lips, 
than  he  seized  her  roughly  by  the  arm,  and  exclaimed, 

"  So  you,  then,  with  all  your  religious  cant,  are  the  mur- 
deress of  Thomas  Hausford  1" 

"  The  murderess !  Of  Hansford !  Is  he  then  dead," 
cried  the  girl,  bewildered  by  the  sudden  charge,  "  How  did 
they  find  him  ?" 

"Find  him  !"  cried  Bernard,  triumphantly,  "It  is  easy 
finding  what  we  hide  ourselves.  We  have  proven  that  you 
alone  are  aware  of  his  hiding  place,  and  you  alone,  there- 
fore, are  responsible  for  his  safety.  It  was  for  this  confes- 
sion that  I  brought  you  here  to-night." 

"  So  help  me  Heaven,"  said  the  trembling  girl,  terrified 
by  the  web  thus  woven  around  her,  "If  he  be  dead,  I  am 
innocent  of  his  death." 

"  The  assassin  of  Berkenhead  may  well  be  the  murderess 
of  Hansford,"  said  Bernard.  "  It  is  easier  to  deny  than  to 
prove.  Come,  my  mistress,  tell  me  when  you  saw  him." 

"Oh,  but  this  morning,  safe  and  well,"  said  Mamalis. 
"  Indeed,  my  hand  is  guiltless  of  his  blood." 

"Prove  it,  then,  if  you  can,"  returned  Bernard.  "You 
must  know  our  English  law  presumes  him  guilty,  who  is 
last  with  the  murdered  person,  unless  he  can  prove  his  in- 
nocence. Show  me  Hansford  alive,  and  you  are  safe.  If 
I  do  not  see  him  by  sunrise,  you  go  with  me  to  answer  for 
his  death,  and  to  learn  that  your  accursed  race  is  not  the 
only  people  who  demand  blood  for  blood." 


310  HANSFORD: 

Overawed  by  his  threats,  and  his  stern  manner,  so  dif- 
ferent from  the  mild  and  respectful  tone  in  which  he  had 
hitherto  addressed  her,  Mamalis  sank  upon  the  ground  in 
an  agony  of  alarm.  Bernard  disregarded  her  meek  and 
silent  appeal  for  mercy,  and  sternly  menaced  her  when  she 
attempted  to  scream  for  assistance. 

"  Hush  your  savage  shrieking,  you  bitch,  or  you'll  wake 
the  house ;  and  then,  by  God,  I'll  choke  you  before  your 
time.  I  tell  you,  if  the  man  is  alive,  you  need  fear  no 
danger  ;  and  if  he  be  dead,  you  have  only  saved  the  sheriff 
a  piece  of  dirty  work,  or  may  be  have  given  him  another 
victim." 

"  For  God's  sake,  do  me  no  harm,"  cried  Mamalis, 
imploringly.  "  I  am  innocent — indeed  I  am.  Think  you 
that  I  would  hurt  a  hair  of  the  head  of  that  man  whom 
Virginia  Temple  loves  ?" 

This  last  remark  was  by  no  means  calculated  to  make  her 
peace  with  Bernard ;  but  his  only  reply  was  by  the  shrill 
whistle  which  had  been  agreed  upon  as  a  signal  between 
Holliday  and  himself.  True  to  his  promise,  and  obedient 
to  the  command  of  his  superior,  the  soldier  made  his 
appearance  on  the  scene  of  action  with  a  promptitude  that 
could  only  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  he  had  concealed 
himself  behind  a  corner  of  the  house,  and  had  heard  every 
word  of  the  conversation.  Too  much  excited  to  be  sus- 
picious, Bernard  did  not  remark  on  his  punctuality,  but 
said,  in  a  low  voice : 

"  Go  wake  Thompson,  saddle  the  horses,  and  let's  be  off. 
We  have  work  before  us.  Go  !"  And  Holliday,  with 
habitual  obedience,  retired  to  execute  the  order. 

"  And  now,"  said  Bernard,  in  an  encouraging  tone,  to 
Mamalis,  "  you  must  go  with  me.  But  you  have  nothing 
to  fear,  if  Hansford  be  alive.  If,  however,  my  suspicions 
be  true,  and  he  has  been  murdered  by  your  hand,  I  will  still 
be  your  friend,  if  you  be  but  faithful." 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         311 

The  horses  were  quickly  brought,  and  Bernard,  half  lead- 
ing, half  carrying  the  poor,  weeping,  trembling  maiden, 
mounted  his  own  powerful  charger,  and  placed  her  behind 
him.  The  order  of  march  was  soon  given,  and  the  heavy 
sound  of  the  horses'  feet  was  heard  upon  the  hard,  crisp, 
frozen  ground.  Mamalis,  seeing  her  fate  inevitable,  what- 
ever it  might  be,  awaited  it  patiently  and  without  a  mur- 
mur. Never  suspecting  the  true  motive  of  Bernard,  and 
fully  believing  that  he  was  bona  fide  engaged  in  searching 
for  the  perpetrators  of  some  foul  deed,  she  readily  con- 
sented, for  her  own  defence,  to  conduct  the  party  to  the 
hiding  place  of  the  hapless  Hansford.  Surprised  and 
shocked  beyond  measure  at  the  intelligence  of  his  fate,  she 
almost  forgot  her  own  situation  in  her  concern  for  him,  and 
was  happy  in  aiding  to  bring  to  justice  those  who,  as  she 
feared,  had  murdered  him.  She  was  surprised,  indeed,  that 
she  had  heard  nothing  of  the  circumstance  from  Virginia, 
as  she  would  surely  have  done,  had  Bernard  mentioned  it  to 
the  family.  But  in  her  ignorance  of  the  rules  of  civilized 
life,  she  attributed  this  to  the  forms  of  procedure,  to  the 
necessity  for  secrecy — to  anything  rather  than  the  true 
cause.  Nor  could  she  help  hoping  that  there  might  be  still 
some  mistake,  and  that  Hansford  would  be  found  alive  and 
well,  thus  establishing  her  own  innocence,  and  ending  the 
pursuit. 

Arrived  nearly  at  the  wigwam,  she  mentioned  the  fact  to 
Bernard,  who  in  a  low  voice  commanded  a  halt,  and  dis- 
mounting with  his  men,  he  directed  Mamalis  to  guide  them 
the  remaining  distance  on  foot.  Leaving  Thompson  iu 
charge  of  the  horses,  until  he  might  be  called  to  their 
assistance,  Bernard  and  Holliday  silently  followed  the 
unsuspecting  Indian  girl  along  the  narrow  path.  A  short 
distance  ahead,  they  could  discern  the  faint  smoke,  as 
it  curled  through  the  opening  at  the  top  of  the  wigwam 
and  floated  towards  the  sky.  This  indication  rendered  it 


312  HANSFORD: 

probable  that  the  object  of  their  search  was  still  watching, 
and  thus  warned  them  to  greater  caution  in  their  approach. 
Bernard's  heart  beat  thick  and  loud,  and  his  cheek  blanched 
with  excitement,  as  he  thus  drew  near  the  lurking  place  of 
his  enemy.  He  shook  Holliday  by  the  arm  with  impatient 
anger,  as  the  heavy-footed  soldier  jarred  the  silence  by  the 
crackling  of  fallen  leaves  and  branches.  And  now  they  are 
almost  there,  and  Mamalis,  whose  excitement  was  also 
intense,  still  in  advance,  saw  through  a  crevice  in  the  door 
the  kneeling  form  of  the  noble  insurgent,  as  he  bowed  him- 
self by  that  lonely  fire,  and  committed  his  weary  soul  to 
God. 

"  He  is  here  !  he  lives  !"  she  shouted.  "  I  knew  that  he 
was  safe  !"  and  the  startled  forest  rang  with  the  echoes  of 
her  voice. 

"  The  murder  is  out,"  cried  Bernard,  as  followed  by 
Holliday,  he  rushed  forward  to  the  door,  which  had  been 
thrown  open  by  their  guide ;  but  ere  he  gained  his  entrance, 
the  sharp  report  of  a  pistol  was  heard,  and  the  beautiful, 
the  trusting  Mamalis  fell  prostrate  on  the  floor,  a  bleeding 
martyr  to  her  constancy  and  faith.  Hansford,  roused  by 
the  sudden  sound  of  her  voice,  had  seized  the  pistol  which, 
sleeping  and  waking,  was  by  his  side,  and  hearing  the  voice 
of  Bernard,  he  had  fired.  Had  the  ball  taken  effect  upon 
either  of  the  men,  he  might  yet  have  been  saved,  for  in  an 
encounter  with  a  single  man  he  would  have  proved  a  for- 
midable adversary.  But  inscrutable  are  His  ways,  whose 
thoughts  are  not  as  our  thoughts,  and  all  that  the  puzzled 
soul  can  do,  is  humbly  to  rely  on  the  hope  that 

"  God  is  his  own  interpreter, 
And  he  will  make  it  plain." 

And  she,  the  last  of  her  dispersed  and  ruined  lineage,  is 
gone.  In  the  lone  forest,  where  the  wintry  blast  swept 
unobstructed,  the  giant  trees  moaned  sadly  and  fitfully  over 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          313 

their  bleeding  child :  and  the  bright  stars,  that  saw  the 
heavy  deed,  wept  from  their  place  in  heaven,  and  bathed 
her  lovely  form  in  night's  pure  dews.  She  did  not  long 
remain  unburied  in  that  forest,  for  when  Virginia  heard  the 
story  of  her  faith  and  loyalty  from  the  rude  lips  of  Holli- 
day,  the  pure  form  of  the  Indian  girl,  still  fresh  and  free 
from  the  polluting  touch  of  the  destroyer,  was  borne  to  her 
own  home,  and  followed  with  due  rites  and  fervent  grief  to 
the  quiet  tomb.  In  after  days,  when  her  sad  heart  loved  to 
dwell  upon  these  early  scenes,  Yirginia  placed  above  the 
Bacred  ashes  of  her  friend  a  simple  marble  tablet,  long  since 
itself  a  ruin  ;  and  there,  engraven  with  the  record  of  her 
faith,  her  loyalty  and  her  love,  was  the  sweet  assurance, 
that  in  her  almost  latest  words,  the  trusting  Indian  girl  had 
indeed  become  one  of  "  the  children  of  her  Father  which  is 
in  Heaven." 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 

"  Let  some  of  the  guard  be  ready  there. 

For  me  ? 
Must  I  go  like  a  traitor  thither  ?" 

Henry  VIII. 

THE  reader  need  not  be  told  that  Hansford,  surprised 
and  unarmed,  for  his  remaining  pistol  was  not  at  hand, 
and  his  sword  had  been  laid  aside  for  the  night,  was  no 
match  for  the  two  powerful  men  who  now  rushed  upon 
him.  To  pinion  his  arms  closely  behind  him,  was  the  work 
of  a  moment,  and  further  resistance  was  impossible.  See- 
ing that  all  hope  of  successful  defence  was  gone,  Hansford 
maintained  in  his  bearing  the  resolute  fortitude  and  firm- 
27 


314  HANSFORD: 

ness  which  can  support  a  brave  man  in  misfortune,  when 
active  courage  is  no  longer  of  avail. 

"  I  suppose,  I  need  not  ask  Mr.  Bernard,"  he  said,  "  by 
what  authority  he  acts — and  yet  I  would  be  glad  to  learn 
for  what  offence  I  am  arrested. " 

"  The  memory  of  your  former  acts  should  teach  you," 
returned  Bernard,  coarsely,  "  that  your  offence  is  reckoned 
among  the  best  commentators  of  the  law  as  high  treason." 

"A  grievous  crime,  truly,"  replied  Hansford,  "but  one 
of  which  I  am  happily  innocent,  unless,  indeed,  a  skirmish 
with  the  hostile  Indians  should  be  reckoned  as  such,  or  Sir 
William  Berkeley  should  be  presumptuous  enough  to  claim 
to  be  a  king ;  in  which  latter  case,  he  himself  would  be  the 
traitor." 

"  He  is  at  least  the  deputy  of  the  king,"  said  Bernard, 
haughtily,  "  and  in  his  person  the  majesty  of  the  king  has 
been  assailed." 

"Unfortunately,  for  your  reasoning,"  replied  Hansford, 
"  the  term  for  which  Berkeley  was  appointed  governor  has 
expired  some  years  since." 

"  That  miserable  subterfuge  will  scarcely  avail,  since  you 
tacitly  acknowledged  his  authority  by  acting  under  his  com- 
mission. But  I  have  no  time  to  be  discussing  with  you  on 
the  nature  of  your  offence,  of  which,  at  least,  I  am  not  the 
judge.  I  will  only  add,  that  conscious  innocence  is  not 
found  skulking  in  dark  forests,  and  obscure  hiding  places. 
Call  Thompson,  with  the  horses,  Holliday.  It  is  time  we 
were  off." 

"  One  word,  before  we  leave,"  said  Hansford,  sadly. 
"  My  pistol  ball  took  effect,  I  know  ;  who  is  its  victim  ?" 

"A  poor  Indian  girl,  who  conducted  us  to  your  fast- 
ness," said  Bernard.  "  I  had  forgotten  her  myself,  till 
now.  Look,  Holliday,  does  she  still  live  ?" 

"Dead  as  a  herring,  your  honour,"  said  the  man,  as  he 
bent  over  the  body,  with  deep  feeling,  for,  though  accus- 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          315 

tomed  to  the  flow  of  blood,  he  had  taken  a  lively  interest 
in  the  poor  girl,  from  what  he  had  seen  and  overheard. 
"  And  by  God,  Cap'n,  begging  your  honour's  pardon,  a 
brave  girl  she  was,  too,  although  she  was  an  Injin." 

"Poor  Mamalis,"  said  Hansford,  tenderly,  "you  have 
met  with  an  early  and  a  sad  fate.  I  little  thought  that  she 
would  betray  me." 

"Nay,  wrong  not  the  dead,"  interposed  Bernard,  "I 
assure  you,  she  knew  nothing  of  the  object  of  our  coming. 
But  all's  fair  in  war,  Major,  and  a  little  intrigue  was  neces- 
sary to  track  you  to  this  obscure  hold." 

"  Well,  farewell,  poor  luckless  maiden  !  And  so  I've 
killed  my  friend,"  said  Hansford,  sorrowfully.  "  Alas  1 
Mr.  Bernard,  my  arm  has  been  felt  in  battle,  and  has  sent 
death  to  many  a  foe.  But,  God  forgive  me !  this  is  the 
first  blood  I  have  ever  spilt,  except  in  battle,  and  this,  too, 
flows  from  a  woman." 

"  Think  not  of  it  thus,"  said  Bernard,  whose  hard  nature 
could  not  but  be  touched  by  this  display  of  unselfish  grief 
on  the  part  of  his  prisoner.  "  It  was  but  an  accident,  and 
should  not  rest  heavily  on  your  soul.  Stay,  Holliday,  I 
would  not  have  the  poor  girl  rot  here,  either.  Suppose 
you  take  the  body  to  Windsor  Hall,  where  it  will  be  treated 
with  due  respect.  Thompson  and  myself  can,  meantime, 
attend  the  prisoner." 

"  Look  ye,  Cap'n,"  said  Holliday,  with  the  superstition 
peculiar  to  vulgar  minds ;  "  'taint  that  I'm  afeard  exactly 
neither,  but  its  a  mighty  dissolute  feeling  being  alone  in  a 
dark  night  with  a  corp.  I'd  rather  kill  fifty  men,  than  to 
stay  by  myself  five  minutes,  with  the  smallest  of  the  fifty 
after  he  was  killed. " 

"  Well,  then,  you  foolish  fellow,  go  to  the  hall  to-night 
and  inform  them  of  her  death,  and  excuse  me  to  Colonel 
Temple  for  my  abrupt  departure,  and  meet  me  with  the 
rest  of  the  men  at  Tindal's  Point  as  soon  as  possible.  I 


316  HANSFORD: 

will  bide  there  for  you.  But  first  help  me  to  take  the  poor 
girl's  body  into  the  wigwam.  I  suppose  she  will  rest 
quietly  enough  here  till  morning.  Major  Hansford,"  he 
added,  courteously,  "our  horses  are  ready  I  perceive. 
You  can  take  Holliday's  there.  He  can  provide  himself 
with  another  at  the  hall.  Shall  we  ride,  sir  ?" 

With  a  sad  heart  the  captive-bound  Hansford  mounted 
with  difficulty  the  horse  prepared  for  him,  which  was  led 
by  Thompson,  while  Bernard  rode  by  his  side,  and  with 
more  of  courtesy  than  could  be  expected  from  him,  en- 
deavoured to  beguile  the  way  with  conversation  with  his 
prisoner. 

Meanwhile  Holliday,  whistling  for  company,  and  ever 
and  anon  looking  behind  him  warily,  to  see  whether  the 
disembodied  Mamalis  was  following  him,  bent  his  steps 
towards  the  hall,  to  communicate  to  the  unsuspecting  Vir- 
ginia the  heavy  tidings  of  her  lover's  capture.  The  rough 
soldier,  although  his  nature  had  been  blunted  by  long 
service  and  familiarity  with  scenes  of  distress,  was  not 
without  some  feelings,  and  showed  even  in  his  rude,  uncul- 
tivated manners,  the  sympathy  and  tenderness  which  was 
wanting  in  the  more  polished  but  harder  heart  of  Alfred 
Bernard. 


A   TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  317 


CHAPTER  XLIY. 

"  Go  to  Lord  Angelo, 

And  let  him  learn  to  know,  when  maidens  sue, 
Men  give  like  gods ;  but  when  they  weep  and  kneel, 
All  their  petitions  are  as  freely  theirs, 
As  they  themselves  would  owe  them." 

Measure  for  Measure. 

IT  were  impossible  to  describe  the  silent  agony  of  Vir- 
ginia Temple,  when  she  learned  from  Holliday,  on  the 
following  morning,  the  capture  of  Hansford.  She  felt 
that  it  was  the  wreck  of  all  her  hopes,  and  that  the  last 
thread  which  still  hung  between  her  and  despair  was 
snapped.  But  even  in  that  dark  hour,  her  strength  of 
mind,  and  her  firmness  of  purpose  forsook  her  not.  There 
was  still  a  duty  for  her  to  perform  in  endeavouring  to  pro- 
cure his  pardon,  and  she  entertained,  with  the  trusting 
confidence  of  her  young  heart,  the  strong  hope  that  Berke- 
ley would  grant  her  request.  On  this  sacred  errand  she 
determined  to  go  at  once.  Although  she  did  not  dream 
of  the  full  extent  of  Bernard's  hypocrisy,  yet  all  his  efforts 
had  been  unavailing  to  restore  full  confidence  in  his  sin- 
cerity. She  dared  not  trust  a  matter  of  such  importance 
to  another,  especially  when  she  had  reason  to  suspect  that 
that  other  was  far  from  being  friendly  in  his  feelings  to- 
wards her  lover.  Once  determined  on  her  course,  she  lost 
no  time  in  informing  her  parents  of  her  resolution ;  and  so, 
when  they  were  all  seated  around  the  breakfast-table,  she 
said  quietly,  but  firmly — 

"  I  am  going  to  Accomac  to-day,  father." 

"  To  where  !"  cried  her  mother ;  "  why  surely,  child,  you 
must  be  out  of  your  senses." 

"  No,  dearest  mother,  my  calmness  is  not  an  indication 
27* 


318  HANSFORD: 

of  insanity.  If  I  should  neglect  this  sacred  duty,  you 
might  then  indeed  tremble  for  my  reason." 

"  What  in  the  world  are  you  thinking  of,  Jeanie  1"  said 
her  father,  in  his  turn  surprised  at  this  sudden  resolution ; 
"  what  duties  can  call  you  to  Accomac  ?" 

"  I  go  to  save  life,"  replied  Virginia.  "  Can  you  wonder, 
my  father,  that  when  I  see  all  that  I  hold  dearest  in  life 
just  trembling  on  the  verge  of  destruction,  I  should  desire 
to  do  all  in  my  power  to  save  it." 

"  You  are  right,  my  child,"  replied  her  father,  tenderly; 
"  if  it  were  possible  for  you  to  accomplish  any  good.  But 
what  can  you  do  to  rescue  Hansford  from  the  hand  of 
justice  ?" 

"  Of  justice  !"  said  Virginia,  "  and  can  you  unite  with 
those,  my  dear  father,  who  profane  the  name  of  justice  by 
applying  it  to  the  relentless  cruelty  with  which  blind  ven- 
geance pursues  its  victims  ?" 

"  Ah,  Jeanie  !"  said  her  father,  smiling,  as  he  pressed 
her  hand  tenderly ;  "  you  should  remember,  in  language  of 
the  quaint  old  satirist,  Butler, 

'  No  thief  e'er  felt  the  halter  draw, 
With  good  opinion  of  the  law;' 

and  although  I  would  not  apply  the  bitter  couplet  to  my 
little  Jeanie  in  its  full  force,  yet  she  must  own  that  her 
interest  in  its  present  application,  prevents  her  from  being 
a  very  competent  judge  of  its  propriety  and  justice. " 

"  But  surely,  dear  father,  you  cannot  think  that  these 
violent  measures  against  the  unhappy  parties  to  the  late 
rebellion,  are  either  just  or  politic  ?" 

"  I  grant,  my  child,  that  to  my  own  mind,  a  far  more 
humane  policy  might  be  pursued  consistent  with  the  ends 
of  justice.  To  inspire  terror  in  a  subject  is  not  the  surest 
means  to  secure  his  allegiance  or  his  love  for  government. 
I  am  sure,  if  you  were  afraid  of  your  old  father,  and  always 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          319 

in  dread  of  his  wrath  and  authority,  you  would  not  love 
him  as  you  do,  Jeanie — and  government  is  at  last  nothing 
but  a  larger  family. " 

"Well,  then,"  returned  the  artless  ghJ,  "why  should  I 
not  go  to  Sir  William  Berkeley,  and  represent  to  him  the 
harshness  of  his  course,  and  the  propriety  of  tempering  his 
revenge  with  mercy  ?" 

"  First,  my  daughter,  because  I  have  only  expressed  my 
private  opinion,  which  would  have  but  little  weight  with 
the  Governor,  or  any  one  else  but  you  and  mother,  there. 
Remember  that  we  are  neither  the  framers  nor  the  adminis- 
trators of  the  law.  And  then  you  would  make  but  a  poor 
mediator,  my  darling,  if  you  were  to  attempt  to  dissuade 
the  Governor  from  his  policy,  by  charging  him  with  cruelty 
and  injustice.  Think  no  more  of  this  wild  idea,  my  dear 
child.  It  can  do  no  good,  arid  reflects  more  credit  on  your 
warm,  generous  heart,  than  on  your  understanding  or  ex- 
perience. " 

"  Hinder  me  not,  my  father,"  said  Yirginia,  earnestly, 
her  blue  eyes  filling  with  tears.  "  I  can  but  fail,  and  if  you 
would  save  me  from  the  bitterness  of  self-reproach  here- 
after, let  me  go.  Oh,  think  how  it  would  add  bitterness  to 
the  cup  of  grief,  if,  when  closing  the  eyes  of  a  dead  friend, 
we  should  think  that  we  had  left  some  remedy  untried  which 
might  have  saved  his  life  !  If  I  fail,  it  will  at  least  be  some 
consolation,  even  in  despair,  that  I  did  all  that  I  could  to 
avert  his  fate ;  and  if  I  succeed — oh  I  how  transporting 
the  thought  that  the  life  of  one  I  love  had  been  spared 
through  my  interposition.  Then  hinder  me  not,  father, 
mother — if  you  would  not  destroy  your  daughter's  peace 
forever,  oh,  let  me  go  1" 

The  solemn  earnestness  with  which  the  poor  girl  thus 
urged  her  parents  to  grant  her  request,  deeply  affected  them 
both ;  and  the  old  lady,  forgetting  in  her  love  for  her 


320  HANSFORD  : 

daughter  the  indelicacy  and  impropriety  of  her  plan,  vol- 
unteered her  very  efficient  advocacy  of  Virginia's  cause. 

"  Indeed,  Colonel  Temple,"  she  said,  "  you  should  not 
oppose  Yirginia  in  this  matter.  You  will  have  enough  to 
reproach  yourself  for,  if  .by  your  means  you  should  prevent 
her  from  doing  what  she  thinks  best.  And,  indeed,  I  like 
to  see  a  young  girl  show  so  much  spirit  and  interest  in  her 
lover's  fate.  It  is  seldom  you  see  such  things  now-a-days, 
though  it  used  to  be  common  enough  in  England.  Now, 
just  put  it  to  yourself. " 

The  Colonel  accordingly  did  "put  it  to  himself,"  and, 
charmed  with  his  daughter's  affection  and  heroism,  con- 
cluded himself  to  accompany  her  to  Accomac,  and  exert 
his  own  influence  with  the  Governor  in  procuring  the  par- 
don of  the  unhappy  Hansford. 

"  Now  that's  as  it  should  be,"  said  the  old  lady,  gratified 
at  this  renewed  assurance  of  her  ascendency  over  her  hus- 
band. "  And  now,  Virginia,  cheer  up.  All  will  be  right, 
my  dear,  for  your  father  has  great  influence  with  the  Gov- 
ernor— and,  indeed,  well  he  might  have,  for  he  has  received 
kindness  enough  at  our  hands  in  times  past.  I  should  like 
to  see  him  refuse  your  father  a  favour.  And  I  will  write  a 
note  to  Lady  Frances  myself,  for  all  the  world  knows  that 
she  is  governor  and  all  with  her  husband." 

"  Ladies  generally  are,"  said  the  Colonel,  with  a  smile, 
which  however  could  not  disguise  the  sincerity  with  which 
he  uttered  the  sentiment. 

"  Oh,  no,  not  at  all,"  retorted,  the  old  lady,  bridling  up. 
"  You  are  always  throwing  up  your  obedience  to  me,  and 
yet,  after  all  said  and  done,  you  have  your  own  way  pretty 
much,  too.  But  you  are  not  decent  to  go  anywhere.  Do, 
pray,  Colonel  Temple,  pay  more  respect  to  society,  and  fix 
yourself  up  a  little.  Put  on  your  blue  coat  and  your  black 
stock,  and  dress  your  hair,  and  shave,  and  look  genteel  for 
once  in  your  life. "  Then,  seeing  by  the  patient  shrug  of 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          321 

her  good  old  husband  that  she  had  wounded  his  feelings, 
she  patted  him  tenderly  on  the  shoulder,  and  added,  "  You 
know  I  always  love  to  see  you  nice  and  spruce,  and  when 
you  do  attend  to  your  dress,  and  fix  up,  I  know  of  none  of 
them  that  are  equal  to  you.  Do  you,  Virginia  ?" 

Before  the  good  Colonel  had  fully  complied  with  all  the 
toilet  requisitions  of  his  wife,  the  carriage  was  ready  to 
take  the  travellers  to  Tindal's  Point,  where  there  was  luckily 
a  small  sloop,  just  under  weigh  for  Accomac.  And  Vir- 
ginia, painfully  alternating  between  hope  and  fear,  but  sus- 
tained by  a  consciousness  of  duty,  was  borne  away  across 
the  broad  Chesapeake,  on  her  pious  pilgrimage,  to  move 
by  her  tears  and  prayers  the  vindictive  heart  of  the  stern 
old  Governor. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

"  Why,  there's  an  end  then  !     I  have  judged  deliberately,  and  the 
result  is  death."  The  Gamester. 


SITUATED,  as  nearly  as  might  be,  in  the  centre  of  each 
of  the  counties  of  Virginia,  was  a  small  settlement,  which, 
although  it  aspired  to  the  dignity  of  a  town,  could  scarcely 
deserve  the  name.  For  the  most  part,  these  little  country 
towns,  as  they  were  called,  were  composed  of  about  four 
houses,  to  wit :  The  court  house,  dedicated  to  justice,  where 
sat,  monthly,  the  magistrates  of  the  county,  possessed  of  an 
unlimited  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  cognizable  in  law  or 
chancery,  not  touching  life  or  murder,  and  having  the  care 
of  orphans'  persons  and  estates  ;  the  jail,  wherein  prisoners 

IT 


322  HANSFOKD  : 

committed  for  any  felony  were  confined,  until  they  could  be 
brought  before  the  general  court,  which  had  the  sole  crimi- 
nal jurisdiction  in  the  colony;  the  tavern,  a  long,  low 
wooden  building,  generally  thronged  with  loafers  and  gos- 
sips, and  reeking  with  the  fumes  of  tobacco  smoke,  apple- 
brandy and  rye-whiskey;  and,  finally,  the  store,  which 
shared,  with  the  tavern,  the  patronage  of  the  loafers,  and 
which  could  be  easily  recognized  by  the  roughly  painted 
board  sign,  containing  a  catalogue  of  the  goods  within, 
arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  without  reference  to  any 
other  classification.  Thus  the  substantial  farmer,  in  search 
of  a  pound  of  candy  for  his  little  white  headed  barbarians, 
whom  he  had  left  at  play,  must  needs  pass  his  finger  over 
"cards,  chains,  calico,  cowhides,  and  candy;"  or,  if  he  had 
come  to  "  town"  to  purchase  a  bushel  of  meal  for  family 
use,  his  eye  was  greeted  with  the  list  of  M's,  containing 
meal,  mustard,  mousetraps,  and  molasses. 

It  was  to  the  little  court  house  town  of  the  county  of  Ac- 
comae,  that  Sir  William  Berkeley  had  retired  after  the 
burning  of  Jamestown  ;  and  here  he  remained,  since  the 
suppression  of  the  rebellion,  like  a  cruel  old  spider,  in  the 
centre  of  his  web,  awaiting,  with  grim  satisfaction,  the 
capture  of  such  of  the  unwary  fugitives  as  might  fall  into 
his  power. 

"Well,  gentlemen,  the  court  martial  is  set,"  said  Sir 
William  Berkeley,  as  he  gazed  upon  the  gloomy  faces  of 
the  military  men  around  him,  in  the  old  court  house  of 
Accomac.  In  that  little  assembly,  might  be  seen  the  tall 
and  manly  form  of  Colonel  Philip  Ludwell,  who  had  been 
honoured,  by  the  especial  confidence  of  Berkeley,  as  he  was, 
afterwards,  by  the  constant  and  tender  love  of  the  widowed 
Lady  Frances.  There,  too,  was  the  stern,  hard  counten- 
ance of  Major  Robert  Beverley,  whose  unbending  loyalty 
had  shut  his  eyes  to  true  merit  in  an  opponent.  The  names 
of  the  remaining  members  of  the  court,  have,  unfortunately, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          323 

not  found  a  place  in  the  history  of  the  rebellion.  Alfred 
Bernard,  on  whom  the  governor  had  showered,  with  a 
lavish  hand,  the  favours  which  it  was  in  his  power  to  be- 
stow, had  been  promoted  to  the  office  of  Major,  in  the 
room  of  Thomas  Hansford,  outlawed,  and  was,  therefore, 
entitled  to  a  seat  at  the  council  which  was  to  try  the  life 
of  his  rival.  But  as  his  evidence  was  of  an  important  cha- 
racter, and  as  he  had  been  concerned  directly  in  the  arrest 
of  the  prisoner,  he  preferred  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  a 
witness,  rather  than  as  a  judge. 

"  Let  the  prisoner  be  brought  before  the  court,"  said 
Berkeley  ;  and  in  a  few  moments,  Hansford,  with  his  hands 
manacled,  was  led,  between  a  file  of  soldiers,  to  the  seat 
prepared  for  him.  His  short  confinement  had  made  but 
little  change  in  his  appearance.  His  face,  indeed,  was 
paler  than  usual,  and  his  eye  was  brighter,  for  the  exciting 
and  solemn  scene  through  which  he  was  about  to  pass. 
But  prejudged,  though  he  was,  his  firmness  never  forsook 
him,  and  he  met  with  a  calm,  but  respectful  gaze,  the  many 
eyes  which  were  bent  upon  him.  Conspicuous  among  the 
rebels,  and  popular  and  beloved  in  the  colony,  his  trial  had 
attracted  a  crowd  of  spectators  ;  some  impelled  by  vulgar 
curiosity,  some  by  their  loyal  desire  to  witness  the  trial  of 
a  rebel  to  his  king,  but  not  a  few  by  sympathy  for  his  early 
and  already  well  known  fate." 

As  might  well  be  expected,  there  was  but  little  difficutly 
in  establishing  his  participation  in  the  late  rebellion. 
There  were  many  of  the  witnesses,  who  had  seen  him  in  in- 
timate association  with  Bacon,  and  several  who  recognized 
him  as  among  the  most  active  in  the  trenches  at  James- 
town. To  crown  all,  the  irresistible  evidence  was  intro- 
duced by  Bernard,  that  the  prisoner  had  actually  brought 
a  threatening  message  to  the  governor,  while  at  Windsor 
Hall,  which  had  induced  the  first  flight  to  Accomac.  It 
was  useless  to  resist  the  force  of  such  accumulated  testi- 


324  HANSFORD: 

inony,  and  Hansford  saw  that  his  fate  was  settled.  It  were 
folly  to  contend  before  such  a  tribunal,  that  his  acts  did  not 
constitute  rebellion,  or  that  the  court  before  whom  he  was 
arraigned  was  unconstitutional.  The  devoted  victim  of 
their  vengeance,  therefore,  awaited  in  silence  the  conclusion 
of  this  solemn  farce,  which  they  had  dignified  by  the  name 
of  a  trial. 

The  evidence  concluded,  Sir  William  Berkeley,  as  Lord 
President  of  the  Court,  collected  the  suffrages  of  its  mem- 
bers. It  might  easily  be  anticipated  by  their  gloomy  coun- 
tenances, what  was  the  solemn  import  of  their  judgment. 
Thomas  Ludwell,  the  secretary  of  the  council,  acted  as 
the  clerk,  and  in  a  voice  betraying  much  emotion,  read  the 
fatal  decision.  The  sympathizing  bystanders,  who  in  awful 
silence  awaited  the  result,  drew  a  long  breath  as  though 
relieved  from  their  fearful  suspense,  even  by  having  heard 
the  worst.  And  Hansford  was  to  die !  He  heard  with 
much  emotion  the  sentence  which  doomed  him  to  a  traitor's 
death  the  next  day  at  noon ;  and  those  who  were  near, 
heard  him  sob,  "  My  poor,  poor  mother !"  But  almost 
instantly,  with  a  violent  effort  he  controlled  his  feelings, 
and  asked  permission  to  speak. 

"  Surely,"  said  the  Governor,  "provided  your  language 
be  respectful  to  the  Court,  and  that  you  say  nothing  re- 
flecting on  his  majesty's  government  at  home  or  in  the 
Colony  of  Virginia." 

"  These  are  hard  conditions,"  said  Hansford,  rising  from 
his  seat,  "  as  with  such  limitations,  I  can  scarcely  hope  to 
justify  my  conduct.  But  I  accept  your  courtesy,  even  with 
these  conditions.  A  dying  man  has  at  last  but  little  to  say, 
and  but  little  disposition  to  mingle  again  in  the  affairs  of 
a  world  which  he  must  so  soon  leave.  In  the  short,  the 
strangely  short  time  allotted  to  me,  I  have  higher  and 
holier  concerns  to  interest  me.  Ere  this  hour  to-morrow, 
I  will  have  passed  from  the  scenes  of  earth  to  appear  before 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          325 

a  higher  tribunal  than  yours,  and  to  answer  for  the  forgotten 
sins  of  my  past  life.  But  I  thank  my  God,  that  while  that 
awful  tribunal  is  higher,  it  is  also  juster  and  more  merciful 
than  yours.  Even  in  this  sad  moment,  however,  I  cannot 
forget  the  country  for  which  I  have  lived,  and  for  which  I 
must  so  soon  die.  I  see  by  your  countenances  that  I  am 
already  transcending  your  narrow  limits.  But  it  cannot  be 
treason  to  pray  for  her,  and  as  my  life  has  been  devoted  to 
her  service,  so  will  my  prayers  for  her  welfare  ascend  with 
my  petitions  for  forgiveness. 

"  I  would  say  a  word  as  to  the  offence  with  which  I  have 
been  charged,  and  the  evidence  on  which  I  have  been  con- 
victed. That  evidence  amounts  to  the  fact  that  I  was  in 
arms,  by  the  authority  of  the  Governor,  against  the  common 
enemies  of  my  country.  Is  this  treason  ?  That  I  was  the 
bearer  of  a  threatening  message  to  the  Governor  from  Gene- 
ral Bacon,  which  caused  the  first  flight  into  Accomac.  And 
here  I  would  say,"  and  he  fixed  his  eyes  full  on  Alfred  Ber- 
nard, as  he  spoke,  who  endeavoured  to  conceal  his  feelings 
by  a  smile  of  scorn,  "  that  the  evidence  on  this  point  has 
been  cruelly,  shariiefully  garbled  and  perverted.  It  was 
never  stated  that,  white  as  the  minister  of  another,  I  bore 
the  message  referred  to,  I  urged  the  Governor  to  consider 
and  retract  the  proclamation  which  he  had  made,  and  offered 
my  own  mediation  to  restore  peace  and  quiet  to  the  Colony. 
Had  my  advice  been  taken  the  beams  of  peace  would  have 
once  more  burst  upon  Virginia,  the  scenes  which  are  con- 
stantly enacted  here,  and  which  will  continue  to  be  enacted, 
would  never  have  disgraced  the  sacred  name  of  justice  ;  and 
the  name  of  Sir  William  Berkeley  would  not  be  handed 
down  to  the  execrations  of  posterity  as  a  dishonoured 
knight,  and  a  brutal,  bloody  butcher." 

"  Silence  !"  cried  the  incensed  old  Governor,  in  tones  of 
thunder,  "  or  by  the  wounds  of  God,  I'll  shorten  the  brief 


326  HANSFORD: 

space  which  now  interposes  between  you  and  eternity.     Is 
this  redeeming  your  promise  of  respect?" 

"  I  beg  pardon,"  said  Hansford,  undaunted  by  the 
menace.  "  Excuse  me,  if  I  cannot  speak  patiently  of  cruelty 
and  oppression.  But  let  this  pass.  That  perfidious  wretch 
who  would  rise  above  my  ruins,  never  breathed  a  word  of 
this,  when  on  the  evangelist  of  Almighty  God  he  was 
sworn  to  speak  the  truth.  But  if  such  evidence  be  suffi- 
cient to  convict  me  of  treason  now,  why  was  it  not  sufficient 
then  ?  Why,  with  the  same  facts  before  you,  did  you,  Sir 
William  Berkeley,  discharge  the  traitor  in  arms,  and  now 
seek  his  death  when  disarmed  and  impotent  ?  One  other 
link  remains  in  the  chain,  this  feeble  chain  of  evidence.  I 
aided  in  the  siege  of  Jamestown,  and  once  more  drove  the 
Governor  and  his  fond  adherents  from  their  capital,  to  their 
refuge  in  the  Accomac.  I  cannot,  I  will  not  deny  it.  But 
neither  can  this  be  treason,  unless,  indeed,  Sir  William 
Berkeley  possesses  in  his  own  person  the  sacred  majesty  of 
Virginia.  For  when  he  abdicated  the  government  by  his  first 
flight  from  the  soil  of  Virginia,  the  sovereign  people  of  the 
Colony,  assembled  in  solemn  convention,  declared  his  office 
vacant.  In  that  convention,  you,  my  judges,  well  know, 
for  you  found  it  to  your  cost,  were  present  a  majority  of 
the  governor's  council,  the  whole  army,  and  almost  the 
entire  chivalry  and  talent  of  the  colony.  In  their  name 
writs  were  issued  for  an  assembly,  which  met  under  their 
authority,  and  the  commission  of  governor  was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  Nathaniel  Bacon. " 

"By  an  unauthorized  mob,"  said  Berkeley,  unable  to 
restrain  his  impatience. 

"By  an  organized  convention  of  sovereign  people,"  re- 
turned Hansford,  proudly.  "  You,  Sir  William  Berkeley, 
deftmed  it  not  an  unauthorized  mob,  when  confiding  in  your 
justice,  and  won  by  your  soft  promises,  a  similar  conven- 
tion, composed  of  cavaliers  and  rich  landholders,  confided 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          327 

to  your  hands,  in  1659,  the  high  trust  whicn  you  now 
hold.  If  suclf  a  proceeding  were  unauthorized  then,  were 
you  not  guilty  in  accepting  the  commission  ?  If  authorized, 
were  not  the  same  people  competent  to  bestow  the  trust 
upon  another,  whom  they  deemed  more  worthy  to  hold  it  ? 
If  this  be  so,  the  insurgents,  as  you  have  chosen  to  call 
them,  were  not  in  arms  against  the  government  at  the  siege 
of  Jamestown.  And  thus  the  last  strand  in  the  coil  of  evi- 
dence, with  which  you  have  involved  me,  is  broken,  as  withs 
are  severed  at  the  touch  of  fire.  But  light  as  is  the  testi- 
mony against  me,  it  is  sufficient  to  turn  the  beam  of  justice, 
when  the  sword  of  Brennus  is  cast  into  the  scale. 

"  One  word  more  and  I  am  done ;  for  I  see  you  are  impa- 
tient for  the  sacrifice.  I  had  thought  that  I  would  have 
been  tried  by  a  jury  of  my  peers.  Such  I  deemed  my  right 
as  a  British  subject.  But  condemned  by  the  extraordinary 
and  unwarranted  proceedings  of  this  Star  Chamber" — 

"  Silence  !"  cried  Berkeley,  again  waxing  wroth  at  such 
an  imputation. 

"I  beg  pardon  once  more,"  continued  Hansford,  "I 
thought  the  favourite  institution  of  Charles  the  First  would 
not  have  met  with  so  little  favour  from  such  loyal  cavaliers. 
But  I  demand  in  the  name  of  Freedom,  in  the  name  of 
England,  in  the  name  of  God  and  Justice,  when  was  Magna 
Charta  or  the  Petition  of  Right  abolished  on  the  soil  of 
Virginia  ?  Is  the  Governor  of  Virginia  so  little  of  a 
lawyer  that  he  remembers  not  the  language  of  the  stout 
Barons  of  Runnymede,  unadorned  in  style,  but  pregnant  with 
freedom.  '  No  freeman  may  be  taken  or  imprisoned,  or  be 
disseised  of  his  freehold  or  liberties,  or  his  free-customs,  or 
be  outlawed  or  exiled,  or  in  any  manner  destroyed,  but  by 
the  lawful  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  by  the  law  of  the  land.' 
Excuse  me,  gentlemen,  for  repeating  to  such  sage  judges  so 
old  and  hackneyed  a  fragment  of  the  law.  But  until  to-day, 
I  had  been  taught  to  hold  those  words  as  sacred,  and  as 


328  HANSFORD: 

indeed  containing  the  charter  of  the  liberties  of  an  English- 
man. Alas  !  it  will  no  longer  be  hackneyed  nor  quoted  by 
the  slaves  of  England,  except  when  they  mourn  with  bitter 
but  hopeless  tears,  for  the  higher  and  purer  freedom  of  their 
ruder  fathers.  Why  am  I  thus  arraigned  before  a  court- 
martial  in  time  of  peace  ?  Am  I  found  in  arms  ?  Am  I  even 
an  officer  or  a  soldier  ?  The  commission  which  I  once  held 
has  been  torn  from  me,  and  given,  as  his  thirty  pieces,  to 
yon  dissembling  Judas,  for  the  price  of  my  betrayal.  But 
I  am  done.  Your  tyranny  and  oppression  cannot  last  for 
ever.  The  compressed  spring  will  at  last  recoil  with  power 
proportionate  to  the  force  by  which  it  has  been  restrained — 
and  freed  posterity  will  avenge  on  a  future  tyrant  my  cruel 
and  unnatural  murder." 

Hansford  sat  down,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley,  flushed 
with  indignation,  replied, 

"  I  had  hoped  that  the  near  approach  of  death,  if  not  a 
higher  motive,  would  have  saved  us  from  such  treasonable 
sentiments.  But,  sir,  the  insolence  of  your  manner  has 
checked  any  sympathy  which  I  might  have  entertained  for 
your  early  fate.  I,  therefore,  have  only  to  pronounce  the 
judgment  of  the  court ;  that  you  be  taken  to  the  place 
whence  you  came,  and  there  safely  kept  until  to-morrow 
noon,  when  you  will  be  taken,  with  a  rope  about  your  neck, 
to  the  common  gallows,  and  there  hung  by  the  neck  until 
you  are  dead.  And  may  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  have  mercy 
on  your  soul !" 

"Amen!"  was  murmured,  in  sad  whispers,  by  the  hun- 
dreds of  pale  spectators  who  crowded  around  the  unhappy 
prisoner. 

"  How  is  this  !"  cried  Hansford,  once  more  rising  to  his 
feet,  with  strong  emotion.  "  Gentlemen,  you  are  soldiers, 
as  such  I  may  claim  you  as  brethren,  as  such  you  should 
be  brave  and  generous  men.  On  that  generosity,  in  this 
hour  of  peril,  I  throw  myself,  and  ask  as  a  last  indulgence, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          329 

as  a  dying  favour,  that  I  may  die  the  death  of  a  soldier, 
and  not  of  a  felon." 

"You  have  lived  a  traitor's,  not  a  soldier's  life,"  said 
Berkeley,  in  an  insulting  tone.  "  A  soldier's  life  is  devoted 
to  his  king  and  country ;  your's  to  a  rebel  and  to  treason. 
You  shall  die  the  death  of  a  traitor." 

"  Well,  then,  I  have  done,"  said  Hansford,  with  a  sigh, 
"  and  must  look  to  Him  alone  for  mercy,  who  can  make 
the  felon's  gallows  as  bright  a  pathway  to  happiness,  as  the 
field  of  glory. " 

Many  a  cheek  flushed  with  indignation  at  the  refusal  of 
the  governor  to  grant  this  last  petition  of  a  brave  man.  A 
murmur  of  dissatisfaction  arose  from  the  crowd,  and  even 
some  sturdy  loyalists  were  heard  to  mutter,  "shame."  The 
other  members  of  the  court  were  seen  to  confer  together, 
and  to  remonstrate  with  the  governor. 

"  'Fore  God,  no,"  said  Berkeley,  in  a  whisper  to  his  ad- 
visers. "  Think  of  the  precedent  it  will  establish.  Traitor 
he  has  lived,  and  as  far  as  my  voice  can  go,  traitor  he  shall 
die.  I  suppose  the  sheep-killing  hound,  and  the  egg-suck- 
ing cur,  will  next  whine  out  their  request  to  be  shot  instead 
of  hung. " 

So  great  was  the  influence  of  Berkeley,  over  the  minds 
of  the  court,  that,  after  a  feeble  remonstrance,  the  petition 
of  the  prisoner  was  rejected.  Old  Beverley  alone,  was 
heard  to  mutter  in  the  ear  of  Philip  Ludwell,  that  it  was  a 
shame  to  deny  a  brave  man  a  soldier's  death,  and  doom 
him  to  a  dog's  fate. 

"  And  for  all  this,"  he  added,  "  its  a  damned  hard  lot, 
and  blast  me,  but  I  think  Hansford  to  be  worth  in  bravery 
and  virtue,  fifty  of  that  painted  popinjay,  Bernard,  whose 
cruelty  is  as  much  beyond  his  years  as  his  childish  vanity 
is  beneath  them." 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  I  trust,  you  are  now  satisfied,"  said 
Berkeley.  "  Sheriff,  remove  your  prisoner,  and,"  looking 


330  HANSFORD: 

angrily  around  at  the  malecontents,  "  if  necessary,  summon 
an  additional  force  to  assist  you." 

The  officer,  however,  deemed  no  such  precaution  neces- 
sary, and  the  hapless  Hansford  was  conducted  back  to  his 
cell  under  the  same  guard  that  brought  him  thence ;  there 
to  await  the  execution  on  the  morrow  of  the  fearful  sentence 
to  which  he  had  been  condemned. 


CHAPTER    XLYI. 

Isabella.  "  Yet  show  some  pity, 

Angela.     I  show  it  most  of  all  when  I  show  justice." 

Measure  for  Measure. 

THAT  evening  Sir  William  Berkeley  was  sitting  in  the 
private  room  at  the  tavern,  which  had  been  fitted  up  for 
his  reception.  He  had  strictly  commanded  his  servants  to 
deny  admittance  to  any  one  who  might  wish  to  see  him. 
The  old  man  was  tired  of  counsellors,  advisers,  and  peti- 
tioners, who  harassed  him  in  their  attempt  to  curb  his 
impatient  ire,  and  he  was  determined  to  act  entirely  for 
himself.  He  had  thus  been  sitting  for  more  than  an  hour, 
looking  moodily  into  the  fire,  without  even  the  officious 
Lady  Frances  to  interfere  with  his  reflections,  when  a  ser- 
vant in  livery  entered  the  room. 

"  If  your  Honour  please,"  said  the  obsequious  servitor, 
"  there  is  a  lady  at  the  door  who  says  she  must  see  you  on 
urgent  business.  I  told  her  that  you  could  not  be  seen, 
but  she  at  last  gave  me  this  note,  which  she  begged  me  to 
hand  you." 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         331 

Berkeley  impatiently  tore  open  the  note  and  read  as 
follows  : — 

"  By  his  friendship  for  my  father,  and  his  former  kind- 
ness to  me,  I  ask  for  a  brief  interview  with  Sir  William 
Berkeley.  "  VIRGINIA  TEMPLE.  " 

"  Fore  God  !"  said  the  Governor,  angrily,  "  they  beset  me 
with  an  importunity  which  makes  me  wretched.  What  the 
devil  can  the  girl  want  1  Some  favour  for  Bernard,  I  sup- 
pose. Well,  any  thing  for  a  moment's  respite  from  these 
troublesome  rebels.  Show  her  up,  Dabney." 

In  another  moment  the  door  again  opened,  and  Virginia 
Temple,  pale  and  trembling,  fell  upon  her  knees  before  the 
Governor,  and  raised  her  soft,  blue  eyes  to  his  face  so  im- 
ploringly, that  the  heart  of  the  old  man  was  moved  to  pity. 

"Rise,  my  daughter,"  he  said,  tenderly;  "tell  me  your 
cause  of  grief.  It  surely  cannot  be  so  deep  as  to  bring 
you  thus  upon  your  knees  to  an  old  friend.  Rise  then,  and 
tell  me." 

"  Oh,  thank  you,"  she  said,  with  a  trembling  voice,  "  I 
knew  that  you  were  kind,  and  would  listen  to  my  prayer." 

"  Well,  Virginia,"  said  the  Governor,  in  the  same  mild 
tone,  "  let  me  hear  your  request  ?  You  know,  we  old  ser- 
vants of  the  king  have  not  much  time  to  spare  at  best,  and 
these  are  busy  times.  Is  your  father  well,  and  your  good 
mother  ?  Can  I  serve  them  in  any  thing  ?" 

"  Thy  are  both  well  and  happy,  nor  do  they  need  your 
aid,"  said  Virginia;  "but  I,  sir,  oh!  how  can  I  speak.  I 
have  come  from  Windsor  Hall  to  ask  that  you  will  be  just 
and  merciful.  There  is,  sir,  a  brave  man  here  in  chains, 
who  is  doomed  to  die — to  die  to-morrow.  Oh,  Hansford, 
Hansford  !"  and  unable  longer  to  control  her  emotion,  the 
poor,  broken-hearted  girl  burst  into  an  agony  of  tears. 

Berkeley's  brow  clouded  in  an  instant. 


332  HANSFORD : 

"  And  is  it  for  that  unhappy  man,  my  poor  girl,  that  you 
have  come  alone  to  sue  ?" 

"  I  did  not  come  alone,"  replied  Yirginia;  "  my  father 
is  with  me,  and  will  himself  unite  in  my  request." 

"  I  will  be  most  happy  to  see  my  old  friend  again,  but  I 
would  that  he  came  on  some  less  hopeless  errand.  Major 
Hansford  must  die.  The  laws  alike  of  his  God  and  his 
country,  which  he  has  trampled  regardless  under  foot,  re- 
quire the  sacrifice  of  his  blood." 

"  But,  for  the  interposition  of  mercy,"  urged  the  poor 
girl,  "  the  laws  of  God  require  the  death  of  all — and  the 
laws  of  his  country  have  vested  in  you  the  right  to  arrest 
their  rigour  at  your  will.  Oh,  how  much  sweeter  to  be 
merciful  than  sternly  just  I" 

"  Nay,  my  poor  girl,"  said  Sir  William,  "you  speak  of 
what  you  cannot  understand,  and  your  own  griefs  have 
blinded  your  mind.  Justice,  Yirginia,  is  mercy;  for  by 
punishing  the  offender  it  prevents  the  repetition  of  the 
offence-.  The%  vengeance  of  the  law  thus  becomes  the  safe- 
guard of  society,  and  the  sword  of  justice  becomes  the 
sceptre  of  righteousness." 

"  I  cannot  reason  with  you,"  returned  Yirginia.  "  You 
are  a  statesman,  and  I  am  but  a  poor,  weak  girl,  ignorant 
of  the  ways  of  the  world." 

"And  therefore  you  have  come  to  advocate  this  suit 
instead  of  your  father,"  said  Berkeley,  smiling.  "  I  see 
through  your  little  plot  already.  Come,  tell  me  now,  am  I 
not  right  in  my  conjecture  ?  Why  have  you  come  to  urge 
the  cause  of  Hansford,  instead  of  your  father  ?" 

"Because, "said  Yirginia, "with  charming  simplicity,  "we 
both  thought,  that  as  Sir  William  Berkeley  had  already 
decided  upon  the  fate  of  this  unhappy  man,  it  would  be 
easier  to  reach  his  heart,  than  to  affect  the  mature  decision 
of  his  judgment." 

"  You   argued   rightly,  my   dear   girl,"  said  Berkeley, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          333 

touched  by  her  frankness  and  simplicity,  as  well  as  by  her 
tears.  "  But  it  is  the  hard  fate  of  those  in  power  to  deny 
themselves  often  the  luxury  of  mercy,  while  they  tread 
onward  in  the  rough  but  straight  path  of  justice.  It  is 
ours  to  follow  the  stern  maxim  of  our  old  friend  Shak- 
speare  : 

'  Mercy  but  murders,  pardoning  those  who  kill.' " 

"But  it  doe's  seem  to  me,"  said  the  resolute  girl,  losing 
all  the  native  diffidence  of  her  character  in  the  interest  she 
felt  in  her  cause — "it  does  seem  to  me  that  even  stern 
policy  would  sometimes  dictate  mercy.  May  not  a  judicious 
clemency  often  secure  the  love  of  the  misguided  citizen, 
while  harsh  justice  would  estrange  him  still  farther  from 
loyalty  ?" 

"  There,  you  are  trenching  upon  your  father's  part,  my 
child,"  said  the  Governor.  "You  must  not  go  beyond 
your  own  cue,  you  know — for  believe  me  that  your  plea  for 
mercy  would  avail  far  more  with  me  than  your  reasons,  how- 
ever cogent.  This  rebellion  proceeded  too  far  to  justify 
any  clemency  toward  those  who  promoted  it." 

"But  it  is  now  suppressed,"  said  Virginia,  resolutely  ; 
"  and  is  it  not  the  sweetest  attribute  of  power,  to  help  the 
fallen  ?  Oh,  remember,"  she  added,  carried  away  com- 
pletely by  her  subject, 

" '  Less  pleasure  take  brave  minds  in  battles  won, 
Than  in  restoring  such  as  are  undone  ; 
Tigers  have  courage,  and  the  rugged  bear, 
But  man  alone  can,  when  he  conquers,  spare.' " 

"  I  did  not  expect  to  hear  your  father's  daughter  defend 
her  cause  by  such  lines  as  these.  Do  you  know  where  they 
are  found  ?" 

"  They  are  Waller's,  I  believe,"  said  Virginia,  blushing 
at  this  involuntary  display  of  learning ;  "  but  it  is  their 
truth,  and  not  their  author,  which  suggested  them  to  me." 


334  HANSFOBD : 

"  Your  memory  is  correct,"  said  Berkeley,  with  a  smile, 
"  but  they  are  found  in  his  panegyric  on  the  Protector.  A 
eulogy  upon  a  traitor  is  bad  authority  with  an  old  cavalier 
like  me." 

"  If,  then,  you  need  authority  which  you  cannot  question," 
the  girl  replied,  earnestly,  "do  you  think  that  the  royal 
cause  lost  strength  by  the  mild  policy  of  Charles  the 
Second  ?  That  is  authority  that  even  you  dare  not  ques- 
tion." 

"Well,  and  what  if  I  should  say,"  replied  Berkeley, 
"  that  this  very  leniency  was  one  of  the  causes  that 
encouraged  the  recent  rebellion  ?  But  go,  my  child ;  I 
would  rejoice  if  I  could  please  you,  but  Hansford's  fate  is 
settled.  I  pity  you,  but  I  cannot  forgive  him."  And  with 
a  courteous  inclination  of  his  head,  he  signified  his  desire 
that  their  interview  should  end. 

"  Nay,"  shrieked  Virginia,  in  desperation,  "  I  will  not  let 
you  go,  except  you  bless  me,"  and  throwing  herself  again 
upon  her  knees,  .she  implored  his  mercy.  Berkeley,  who, 
with  all  his  sternness,  was  not  an  unfeeling  man,  was  deeply 
moved.  What  the  result  might  have  been  can  never  be 
known,  for  at  that  moment  a  voice  was  heard  from  the  street 
exclaiming,  "  Drummond  is  taken  !"  In  an  instant  the 
whole  appearance  of  the  Governor  changed.  His  cheek 
flushed  and  his  eye  sparkled,  as  with  hasty  strides  he  left 
the  room  and  descended  the  stairs.  No  more  the  fine 
specimen  of  a  cavalier  gentleman,  his  manner  became  at 
once  harsh  and  irritable. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Drummond,"  he  cried,  as  he  saw  the  proud 
rebel  led  manacled  to  the  door.  "  'Fore  God,  and  I  am 
more  delighted  to  see  you  than  any  man  in  the  colony. 
You  shall  hang  in  half  an  hour." 

"  And  if  he  do,"  shrieked  the  wild  voice  of  a  woman 
from  the  crowd,  "  think  you  that  with  your  puny  hand  you 
can  arrest  the  current  of  liberty  in  this  colony  ?  And  when 


A  TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  335 

you  appear  before  the  dread  bar  of  God,  the  spirits  of  these 
martyred  patriots  will  rise  up  to  condemn  you,  and  fiends 
shall  snatch  at  your  blood-stained  soul,  perfidious  tyrant ! 
And  I  will  be  among  them,  for  such  a  morsel  of  vengeance 
would  sweeten  hell.  Ha  !  ha  !  ha  !" 

With  that  wild,  maniac  laugh,  Sarah  Drummond  disap- 
peared from  the  crowd  of  astounded  spectators. 

History  informs  us  that  the  deadly  threat  of  Berkeley 
was  carried  into  effect  immediately.  But  it  was  not  until 
two  days  afterwards  that  William  Drummond  met  a  traitor's 
doom  upon  the  common  gallows. 

Yirginia  Temple,  thus  abruptly  left,  and  deprived  of  all 
hope,  fell  senseless  on  the  floor  of  the  room.  The  hope 
which  had  all  along  sustained  her  brave  young  heart,  had 
now  vanished  forever,  and  kindly  nature  relieved  the  agony 
of  her  despair  by  unconsciousness.  And  there  she  lay,  pale 
and  beautiful,  upon  that  floor,  while  the  noisy  clamour 
without  was  hailing  the  capture  of  another  victim,  whose 
fate  was  to  bring  sorrow  and  despair  to  another  broken 
heart. 


CHAPTER  XLYII. 

"  His  nature  is  so  far  from  doing  harm, 
That  he  suspects  none ;  on  whose  foolish  honesty 
My  practices  ride  easy." 

King  Lear. 

WHEN  Yirginia  aroused  again  to  consciousness,  her  eyes 
met  the  features  of  Alfred  Bernard,  as  he  knelt  over  her 
form.  Not  yet  realizing  her  situation,  she  gazed  wildly 
about  her,  and  in  a  hoarse,  husky  whisper,  which  fell  hor- 
ridly on  the  ear,  she  said,  "  Where  is  my  father  ?" 


336  HANSFOED : 

"At  home,  Virginia,"  replied  Bernard,  softly,  chafing 
her  white  temples  the  while — "  And  you  are  here  in  Acco- 
mac.  Look  up,  Virginia,  and  see  that  you  are  not  without 
a  friend  even  here." 

"  Oh,  now,  yes,  now  I  know  it  all,"  she  shrieked,  spring- 
ing up  with  a  wild  bound,  and  rushing  like  a  maniac  to- 
ward the  door.  "  They  have  killed  him  !  I  have  slept 
here,  instead  of  begging  his  life.  I  have  murdered  him  ! 
Ha!  you,  sir,  are  you -the  jailer?  I  should  know  your 
face." 

"Nay,  do  not  speak  thus,  Virginia,"  said  Bernard,  hold- 
ing her  gently  in  his  arms,  "  Hansford  is  yet  alive.  Be 
calm." 

"Hansford!  I  thought  he  was  dead  I"  said  the  poor 
girl,  her  mind  still  wandering.  "  Did  not  Mamalis — no — 
she  is  dead — all  are  dead — ha  ?  where  am  I  ?  Sure  this 
is  not  Windsor  Hall.  Nay,  what  am  I  talking  about. 
Let  me  see ;"  and  she  pressed  her  hand  to  her  forehead, 
and  smoothed  back  her  fair  hair,  as  she  strove  to  collect 
her  thoughts.  "  Ah !  now  T  know,"  she  said  at  length, 
more  calmly,  "  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Bernard,  I  have 
acted  very  foolishly,  I  fear.  But  you  will  forgive  a  poor 
distracted  girl." 

"  I  promised  you  my  influence  with  the  governor,"  said 
Bernard,  "  and  I  do  not  yet  despair  of  effecting  my  object. 
And  so  becalm." 

"Despair!"  said  Virginia,  bitterly,  "as  well  might  you 
expect  to  turn  a  river  from  the  sea,  as  to  turn  the  relentless 
heart  of  that  bigoted  old  tyrant  from  blood.  And  yet,  I 
thank  you,  Mr.  Bernard,  and  beg  that  you  will  leave  no 
means  untried  to  preserve  my  poor  doomed  Hansford. 
You  see  I  am  quite  calm  now,  and  should  you  fail  in  your 
efforts  to  procure  a  pardon,  may  I  ask  one  last  melancholy 
favour  at  your  hands  I  I  would  see  him  once  more  before 
we  part,  forever."  And  to  prove  how  little  she  knew  her 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          337 

own  heart,  the  poor  girl  burst  into  a  renewed  agony  of 
grief. 

"  Calm  your  feelings,  then,  dear  Virginia,"  said  Bernard, 
"  and  you  shall  see  him.  But  by  giving  way  thus,  you 
would  unman  him." 

"You  remind  me  of  my  duty,  my  friend,"  said  Virginia, 
controlling  herself,  with  a  strong  effort,  "  and  I  will  not 
again  forget  it  in  my  selfish  grief.  Shall  we  go  now  ?" 

"Remain  here,  but  a  few  moments,  patiently,"  he  re- 
plied, "  and  I  will  seek  the  governor,  and  urge  him  to  re- 
lent. If  I  fail,  I  will  return  to  you." 

Leaving  the  young  girl  once  more  to  her  own  sad  reflec- 
tions, Alfred  Bernard  left  the  room. 

"Virtue  has  its  own  reward,"  he  muttered,  as  he  walked 
slowly  along.  "  I  wonder  how  many  would  be  virtuous  if 
•  it  were  not  so!  Self  is  at  last  the  mainspring  of  action, 
and  when  it  produces  good,  we  call  it  virtue ;  when  it  ac- 
complishes evil,  we  call  it  vice  ;  wherein,  then,  am  I  worse 
than  my  fellow  man  ?  Here  am  I,  now,  giving  this  poor 
girl  a  interview  with  her  rebel  lover,  and  extracting  some 
happiness  for  them,  even  from  their  misery.  And  yet  I 
am  not  a  whit  the  worse  off.  iN"ay,  I  am  benefited,  for 
gratitude  is  a  sure  prompter  of  love :  and  when  Hansford 
is  out  of  the  way,  who  so  fit  to  supply  the  niche,  left  vacant 
in  her  heart,  as  Alfred  Bernard,  who  soothed  their  mutual 
grief.  Thus  virtue  is  often  a  valuable  handmaid  to  suc- 
cess, and  may  be  used  for  our  purposes,  when  we  want  her 
assistance,  and  afterwards  be  whistled  to  the  winds  as  a 
pestilent  jade.  Machiavelli  in  politics,  Loyola  in  religion, 
Rochefoucault  in  society,  ye  are  the  mighty  three,  who, 
seeing  the  human  heart  in  all  its  nakedness,  have  dared  to 
tear  the  mask  from  its  deformed  and  hideous  features." 

"  What  in  the  world  are  you  muttering  about,  Alfred  ?'' 
said  Governor  Berkeley,  as  they  met  in  the  porch,  as  Ber- 
nard had  finished  this  diabolical  soliloquy. 


338  HANSFORD  : 

"  Oh  nothing,"  replied  the  young  intriguer.  "  But  I 
came  to  seek  your  excellency." 

"  And  I  to  seek  for  you,  my  sage  young  counsellor ;  I 
have  to  advise  with  you  upon  a  subject  which  lies  heavy  on 
my  heart,  Alfred." 

"  You  need  only  command  my  counsel  and  it  is  yours," 
said  Bernard,  "  but  I  fear  that  I  can  be  of  little  assistance 
in  your  reflections."  * 

"  Yes  you  can,  my  boy,"  returned  Berkeley,  "  I  know 
not  whether  you  will  esteem  it  a  compliment  or  not,  Alfred, 
but  yours  is  an  old  head  on  young  shoulders,  and  the  heart, 
which  in  the  season  of  youth  often  flits  away  from  the  sober 
path  of  judgment,  seems  with  you  to  follow  steadily  in  the 
wake  of  reason. " 

"  If  you  mean  that  I  am  ever  ready  to  sacrifice  my  own 
selfish  impulses  to  my  duty,  I  do  esteem  it  as  a  compliment, 
though  I  fear  not  altogether  deserved." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  the  Governor,  "  this  poor  boy,  Hans- 
ford,  who  is  to  suffer  death  to-morrow,  I  have  had  a  strange 
interview  concerning  him  since  I  last  saw  you." 

"  Aye,  with  Miss  Temple,"  returned  Bernard.  "  She  told 
me  she  had  seen  you,  and  that  you  were  as  impregnable  to 
assault  as  the  rock  of  Gibraltar. " 

"I  thought  so  too,  where  treason  was  concerned,"  said 
Berkeley.  "  But  some  how,  the  leaven  of  the  poor  girl's 
tears  is  working  strangely  in  my  heart ;  and  after  I  had  left 
her,  who  should  I  meet  but  her  old  father. " 

"  Is  Colonel  Temple  here  ?"  asked  Bernard,  surprised. 

"  Aye  is  he,  and  urged  Hansford's  claims  to  pardon  with 
such  force,  that  I  had  to  fly  from  temptation.  Nay  he 
even  put  his  plea  for  mercy  upon  the  ground  of  his  own 
former  kindness  to  me." 

"  The  good  old  gentleman  seems  determined  to  be  paid 
for  that  hospitality,"  said  Bernard,  with  a  sneer.  "  Well  1" 

"  Well,  altogether  I  am  almost  determined  to  interpose 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         339 

my  reprieve,  until  the  wishes  of  his  majesty  are  known," 
said  Berkeley,  with  some  hesitation. 

Bernard  was  silent,  for  some  moments,  and  the  Governor 
continued. 

"  What  do  you  say  to  this  course  Alfred  ?" 

"  Simply,  that  if  you  are  determined,  I  have  nothing  to 
say." 

"Nay,  but  I  am  not  determined,  my  young  friend." 

"  Then  I  must  ask  you  what  are  the  grounds  of  your 
hesitation,  before  I  can  express  an  opinion  ?"  said  Bernard. 

"Well,  first,"  said  the  Governor,  "because  it  will  be  a 
personal  favour  to  Colonel  Temple,  and  will  dry  the  tears 
in  those  blue  eyes  of  his  pretty  daughter.  His  kindness  to 
me  in  this  unhappy  rebellion  would  be  but  poorly  requited, 
if  I  refused  the  first  and  only  favour  that  he  has  ever  asked 
of  me." 

"Then  hereafter,"  returned  Bernard,  quietly,  "it  would 
be  good  policy  in  a  rebellion,  for  half  the  rebels  to  remain 
at  home  and  entertain  the  Governor  at  their  houses.  They 
would  thus  secure  the  pardon  of  the  rest. " 

"Well,  you  young  Solomon,"  said  Berkeley,  laughing, 
"  I  believe  you  are  right  there.  It  would  be  a  dangerous 
precedent.  But  then,  a  reprieve  is  not  a  pardon,  and  while 
I  might  thus  oblige  my  friends,  the  king  could  hereafter 
see  the  cause  of  justice  vindicated." 

"  And  you  would  shift  your  own  responsibility  upon  the 
king,"  replied  Bernard  "  H-as  not  Charles  Stuart  enough 
to  trouble  him,  with  his  rebellious  subjects  at  home,  with- 
out having  to  supervise  every  petty  felony  or  treason  that 
occurs  in  his  distant  colonies  ?  This  provision  of  our 
charter,  denying  to  the  Governor  the  power  of  absolute 
pardon,  but  granting  him  power  to  reprieve,  was  only 
made,  that  in  doubtful  cases,  the  minister  might  rely  upon 
the  wisdom  of  majesty.  It  was  never  intended  to  shift  all 
the  trouble  and  vexation  of  a  colonial  executive  upon  the 


340  HANSFORD : 

overloaded  hands  of  the  king.  If  you  have  any  doubt  of 
Haiisford's  guilt,  I  would  be  the  last  to  turn  your  heart 
from  clemency,  by  a  word  of  my  mouth.  If  he  be  guilty, 
I  only  ask  whether  Sir  William  Berkeley  is  the  man  to 
shrink  from  responsibility,  and  to  fasten  upon  his  royal 
master  the  odium,  if  odium  there  be,  attending  the  execu- 
tion of  the  sentence  against  a  rebel." 

"  Zounds,  no,  Bernard,  you  know  I  am  not.  But  then 
there  are  a  plenty  of  rebels  to  sate  the  vengeance  of  the 
law,  besides  this  poor  young  fellow.  Does  justice  demand 
that  all  should  perish  ?" 

"My  kind  patron,"  said  Bernard,  "to  whom  I  owe  all 
that  I  have  and  am,  do  not  further  urge  me  to  oppose  feel- 
ings so  honorable  to  your  heart.  Exercise  your  clemency 
towards  this  unhappy  young  man,  in  whose  fate  I  feel  as 
deep  an  interest  as  yourself.  If  harm  should  flow  from 
your  mercy,  who  can  censure  you  for  acting  from  motives 
so  generous  and  humane.  If  by  your  mildness  you  should 
encourage  rebellion  again,  posterity  will  pardon  the  weak- 
ness of  the  Governor  in  the  benevolence  of  the  man." 

"  Stay,"  said  Berkeley,  his  pride  wounded  by  this  impu- 
tation, "  you  know,  Alfred,  that  if  I  thought  that  clemency 
towards  this  young  rebel  would  encourage  rebellion  in  the 
future,  I  would  rather  lose  my  life  than  spare  his.  But 
speak  out,  and  tell  me  candidly  why  you  think  the  execu- 
tion of  this  sentence  necessary  to  satisfy  justice." 

"  You  force  me  to  an  ungrateful  duty,"  replied  the  young 
hypocrite,  "  for  it  is  far  more  grateful  to  the  heart  of  a 
benevolent  man  to  be  the  advocate  of  mercy,  than  the  stern 
champion  of  justice.  But  since  you  ask  my  reasons,  it  is 
my  duty  to  obey  you.  First,  then,  this  young  man,  from 
his  talent,  his  bravery,  and  his  high-flown  notions  about 
liberty,  is  far  more  dangerous  than  any  of  the  insurgents 
who  have  survived  Nathaniel  Bacon.  Then,  he  has  shown 
that  so  far  from  repenting  of  his  treason,  he  is  ready  to 


A   TALE   OF   BACON'S   REBELLION.  341 

justify  it,  as  witness  his  speech,  wherein  he  predicted  the 
triumph  of  revolution  in  Virginia,  and  denounced  the  ten- 
geance  of  future  generations  upon  tyranny  and  oppression. 
Nay,  he  even  went  farther,  and  characterized  as  brutal 
bloody  butchers  the  avengers  of  the  broken  laws  of  their 
country." 

"  I  remember,"  said  Berkeley,  turning  pale  at  the  recol- 
lection. 

"  But  there  is  another  cogent  reason  why  he  should  suffer 
the  penalty  which  he  has  so  richly  incurred.  If  your  object 
be  to  secure  the  returning  loyalty  and  affection  of  the  people, 
you  should  not  incense  them  by  unjust  discrimination  in 
favour  of  a  particular  rebel.  The  friends  of  Drummond, 
of  Lawrence,  of  Cheeseman,  of  Wilford,  of  Bland,  of  Car- 
ver, will  all  say,  and  say  with  justice,  that  you  spared  the 
principal  leader  in  the  rebellion,  the  personal  friend  and 
adviser  of  Bacon,  while  their  own  kinsmen  were  doomed  to 
the  scaffold.  Nor  will  those  ghosts  walk  unavenged." 

"  I  see,  I  see,"  cried  Berkeley,  grasping  Bernard  warmly 
by  the  hand.  "  You  have  saved  me,  Alfred,  from  a  weak- 
ness which  I  must  ever  afterwards  have  deplored,  and  at 
the  expense  of  your  own  feelings,  my  boy." 

"  Yes,  my  dear  patron,"  replied  Bernard,  with  a  sigh, 
"  you  may  well  say  at  the  expense  of  my  own  feelings.  For 
I  too,  have  just  witnessed  a  scene  which  would  have  moved 
a  heart  of  stone  ;  and  it  was  at  the  request  of  that  poor, 
weeping,  broken-hearted  girl,  to  save  whom  from  distress, 
I  would  willingly  lay  down  my  life — it  was  at  her  request 
that  I  came  to  beg  at  your  hands  the  poor  privilege  of  a 
last  interview  with  her  lover.  Even  Justice,  stern  as  are 
her  decrees,  cannot  deny  this  boon  to  Mercy. " 

"  You  have  a  generous  heart,  my  dear  boy,"  said  the 
Governor,  with  the  tears  starting  from  his  eyes.  "  There 
are  not  many  men  who  would  thus  take  delight  in  minister- 
ing consolation  to  the  heart  of  a  successful  rival.  You 
29* 


342  HANSFORD : 

have  my  full  and  free  permission.  Go,  my  son,  and  through 
life  may  your  heart  be  ever  thus  awake  to  such  generous 
impulses,  yet  sustained  and  controlled  by  your  unwavering 
devotion  to  duty  and  justice." 


CHAPTER  XLYIII. 

"  My  life,  my  health,  my  liberty,  my  all ! 
How  shall  I  welcome  thee  to  this  sad  place — 
How  speak  to  thee  the  words  of  joy  and  transport? 
How  run  into  thy  arms,  withheld  by  fetters, 
Or  take  thee  into  mine,  while  I'm  thus  manacled 
And  pinioned  like  a  thief  or  murderer  ?" 

The  Mourniiig  Bride. 

How  different  from  the  soliloquy  of  the  dark  and 
treacherous  Bernard,  seeking  in  the  sophistry  and  casu- 
istry of  philosophy  to  justify  his  selfishness,  were  the 
thoughts  of  his  noble  victim  1  Too  brave  to  fear  death, 
yet  too  truly  great  not  to  feel  in  all  its  solemnity  the  grave 
importance  of  the  hour ;  with  a  soul  formed  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  this  world,  yet  fully  prepared  to  encounter  the 
awful  mysteries  of  another,  the  heart  of  Thomas  Hansford 
beat  calmly  and  healthfully,  unappalled  by  the  certainty 
that  on  the  morrow  it  would  beat  no  more.  He  was 
seated  on  a  rude  cot,  in  the  room  which  was  prepared  for 
his  brief  confinement,  reading  his  Bible.  The  proud  man, 
who  relying  on  his  own  strength  had  braved  many  dangers, 
and  whose  cheek  had  never  blanched  from  fear  of  an  earthly 
adversary,  was  not  ashamed  in  this,  his  hour  of  great  need, 
to  seek  consolation  and  support  from  Him  who  alone  could 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          343 

conduct  him  through  the  dark  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death. 

The  passage  which  he  read  was  one  of  the  sublime  strains 
of  the  rapt  Isaiah,  and  never  had  the  promise  seemed 
sweeter  and  dearer  to  hi&  soul  than  new,  when  he  could 
so  fully  appropriate  it  to  himself. 

"  Fear  not  for  I  have  redeemed  thee,  I  have  called  thee 
by  my  name ;  thou  art  mine. 

"  When  thou  passest  through  the  waters  I  will  be  with 
thee ;  and  through  the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow  thee ; 
when  thou  walkest  through  the  fire  thou  shalt  not  be  burnt ; 
neither  shall  the  flame  kindle  upon  thee. 

"  For  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  the  Holy  one  of  Israel, 
thy  Saviour." 

As  he  read  and  believed  the  blessed  assurance  contained 
in  the  sacred  promise,  he  learned  to  feel  that  death  was 
indeed  but  the  threshold  to  a  purer  world.  So  absorbed 
was  he  in  the  contemplation  of  this  sublime  theme,  that  he 
did  not  hear  the  door  open,  and  it  was  some  time  before 
he  looked  up  and  saw  Alfred  Bernard  and  Virginia  Tem- 
ple, who  had  quietly  entered  the  room. 

Virginia's  resolution  entirely  gave  way,  and  violently 
trembling  from  head  to  foot,  her  hands  and  brow  as  white 
and  cold  as  marble,  she  well  nigh  sank  under  the  sickening 
effect  of  her  agony.  For  all  this  she  did  not  weep.  There 
are  wounds  which  never  indicate  their  existence  by  outward 
bleeding,  and  such  are  esteemed  most  dangerous.  'Tis  thus 
with  the  spirit-wounds  which  despair  inflicts  upon  its  vic- 
tim. Nature  yields  not  to  the  soul  the  sad  relief  of  tears, 
but  falling  in  bitter  drops  they  petrify  and  crush  the  sad 
heart,  which  they  fail  to  relieve. 

Hansford,  too,  was  much  moved,  but  with  a  greater  con- 
trol of  his  feelings  he  said,  "  And  so,  you  have  come  to 
take  a  last  farewell,  Virginia.  This  is  very,  very  kind. " 

"I  regret,"  said  Alfred  Bernard,  "that  the  only  condi- 


344  HANSFOED : 

tion  on  which  I  gained  admittance  for  Miss  Temple  was, 
that  I  should  remain  during  the  interview.  Major  Hans- 
ford  will  see  the  necessity  of  such  a  precaution,  and  will,  I 
am  sure,  pardon  an  intrusion  as  painful  to  me  as  to  him- 
self." 

The  reader,  who  has  been  permitted  to  see  the  secret 
workings  of  that  black  heart,  which  was  always  veiled 
from  the  world,  need  not  be  told  that  no  such  precaution 
was  proposed  by  the  Governor.  Bernard's  object  was 
more  selfish  ;  it  was  to  prevent  his  victim  from  prejudicing 
the  mind  of  Yirginia  towards  him,  by  informing  her  of  the 
prominent  part  that  he  had  taken  in  Hansford's  trial  and 
conviction. 

"  Oh,  certainly,  sir,"  replied  Hansford,  gratefully,  "  and 
I  thank  you,  Mr.  Bernard,  for  thus  affording  me  an  oppor- 
tunity of  taking  a  last  farewell  of  the  strongest  tie  which 
yet  binds  me  to  earth.  I  had  thought  till  now,"  he  added, 
with  emotion,  "  that  I  was  fully  prepared  to  meet  my  fate. 
Well,  Yirginia,  the  play  is  almost  over,  and  the  last  dread 
scene,  tragic  though  it  be,  cannot  last  long." 

"Oh,  God!"  cried  the  trembling  girl,  "help  me — help 
me  to  bear  this  heavy  blow." 

"  Nay,  speak  not  thus,  my  own  Yirginia,"  he  said. 
"  Remember  that  my  lot  is  but  the  common  destiny  of  man- 
kind, only  hastened  a  few  hours.  The  leaves,  that  the  chill 
autumn  breath  has  strewn  upon  the  earth,  will  be  supplied 
by  others  in  the  spring,  which  in  their  turn  will  sport  for  a 
season  in  the  summer  wind,  and  fade  and  die  with  another 
year.  Thus  one  generation  passes  away,  and  another 
comes,  like  them  to  live,  like  them  to  die  and  be  forgotten. 
We  need  not  fear  death,  if  we  have  discharged  our  duty." 

With  such  words  of  cold  philosophy  did  Hansford  strive 
to  console  the  sad  heart  of  Yirginia. 

"  'Tistrue,  the  death  I  die,"  he  added  with  a  shudder, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          345 

''is  what  men  call  disgraceful — but  the  heart  need  feel  no 
fear  which  is  sheltered  by  the  Rock  of  Ages." 

"  And  yours  is  sheltered  there,  I  know,"  she  said.  "  The 
change  for  you,  though  sudden  and  awful,  must  be  happy ; 
but  for  me  !  for  me  ! — oh,  God,  my  heart  will  break  1" 

"  Virginia,  Virginia,"  said  Hansford,  tenderly,  as  he 
tried  with  his  poor  manacled  hands  to  support  her  almost 
fainting  form,  "control  yourself.  Oh,  do  not  add  to  my 
sorrows  by  seeing  you  suffer  thus.  You  have  still  many 
duties  to  perform — to  soothe  the  declining  years  of  your 
old  parents — to  cheer  with  your  warm  heart  the  many 
friends  who  love  you — and,  may  I  add,"  he  continued,  with 
a  faltering  voice,  "  that  my  poor,  poor  mother  will  need 
your  consolation.  She  will  soon  be  without  a  protector  on 
earth,  and  this  sad  news,  I  fear,  will  well  nigh  break  her 
heart.  To  you,  and  to  the  kind  hands  of  her  merciful 
Father  in  heaven,  I  commit  the  charge  of  my  widowed 
mother.  Oh,  will  you  not  grant  the  last  request  of  your 
own  Hansford  ?" 

And  Virginia  promised,  and  well  and  faithfully  did  she 
redeem  that  promise.  That  widowed  mother  gained  a 
daughter  in  the  loss  of  her  noble  boy,  and  died  blessing  the 
pure-hearted  girl,  whose  soothing  affection  had  sweetened 
her  bitter  sorrows,  and  smoothed  her  pathway  to  the  quiet 
grave. 

"And  now,  Mr.  Bernard,"  said  Hansford,  "it  is  useless 
to  prolong  this  sad  interview.  We  have  been  enemies. 
Forgive  me  if  I  have  ever  done  you  wrong — the  prayers 
of  a  dying  man  are  for  your  happiness.  Farewell,  Virginia, 
remember  me  to  your  kind  old  father  and  mother  ;  and  look 
you,"  he  added,  with  a  sigh,  "give  this  lock  of  my  hair  to 
my  poor  mother,  and  tell  her  that  her  orphan  boy,  who 
died  blessing  her,  requested  that  she  would  place  it  in  her 
old  Bible,  where  I  know  she  will  often  see  it,  and  remember 
me  when  I  am  gone  forever.  Once  more,  Virginia,  fare 


346  HANSFORD: 

well !  Remember,  dearest,  that  this  brief  life  is  but  a  seg- 
ment of  the  great  circle  of  existence.  The  larger  segment 
is  beyond  the  grave.  Then  live  on  bravely,  as  I  know  you 
will  virtuously,  and  we  will  meet  in  Heaven." 

Without  a  word,  for  she  dared  not  speak,  Yirginia 
received  his  last  kiss  upon  her  pale,  cold  forehead,  and 
cherished  it  there  as  a  seal  of  love,  sacred  as  the  sign  of  the 
Redeemer's  cross,  traced  on  the  infant  brow  at  the  baptis- 
mal font. 


CHAPTER    XLIX. 

"  Forthwith  this  frame  of  mine  was  wrenched 

With  a  woeful  agony, 
"Which  forced  me  to  begin  my  tale, 

And  then  it  left  me  free. 
Since  then,  at  an  uncertain  hour, 

That  agony  returns, 
And  till  this  ghastly  tale  is  told 
My  heart  within  me  burns." 

Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner. 

THE  sun  shone  brightly  the  next  morning,  as  it  rose 
above  the  forest  of  tall  pines  which  surrounded  the  little 
village  of  Accomac ;  and  as  its  rays  stained  the  long 
icicles  on  the  evergreen  branches  of  the  trees,  they  looked 
like  the  pendant  jewels  of  amber  which  hung  from  the 
ears  of  the  fierce,  untutored  chieftains  of  the  forest.  The 
air  was  clear  and  frosty,  and  the  broad  heaven,  that  hung 
like  a  blue  curtain  above  the  busy  world,  seemed  even 
purer  and  more  beautiful  than  ever.  There,  calm  and 
eternal,  it  spread  in  its  unclouded  glory,  above  waters, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.          347 

woods,  wilds,  as  if  unmindful  of  the  sorrows  and  the  cares 
of  earth.  So  hovers  the  wide  providence  of  the  eternal 
God  over  his  creation,  unmoved  in  its  sublime  depths  by 
the  joys  and  woes  which  agitate  the  mind  of  man,  yet 
shining  over  him  still,  in  its  clear  beauty,  and  beckoning 
him  upwards  ! 

But  on  none  did  the  sun  shine  with  more  brightness,  or 
the  sky  smile  with  more  bitter  mockery,  on  that  morning, 
than  on  the  dark  forms  of  Arthur  Hutchinson  and  his 
young  pupil,  Alfred  Bernard,  as  they  sat  together  in  the 
embrasure  of  the  window  which  lightened  the  little  room  of 
the  grave  old  preacher.  A  terrible  revelation  was  that 
morning  to  be  made,  involving  the  fate  of  the  young  Jesuit, 
and  meting  out  a  dread  retribution  for  the  crime  that  he  had 
committed.  Arthur  Hutchinson  had  reserved  for  this  day 
the  narrative  of  the  birth  and  history  of  Alfred  Bernard. 
It  had  been  a  story  which  he  long  had  desired  to  know,  but 
to  all  his  urgent  inquiries  the  old  preacher  had  given  au 
evasive  reply.  But  now  there  was  no  longer  need  for  mys- 
tery. The  design  of  that  long  silence  had  been  fully 
accomplished,  and  thus  the  stern  misanthrope  began  his 
narrative  : 

11  It  matters  little,  Alfred  Bernard,  to  speak  of  my  own 
origin  and  parentage.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  though  not 
noble,  by  the  accepted  rules  of  heraldry,  my  parents  were 
noble  in  that  higher  sense,  in  which  all  may  aspire  to  true 
nobility,  a  patent  not  granted  for  bloody  feats  in  arms,  nor 
by  an  erring  man,  but  granted  to  true  honesty  and  virtue 
from  the  court  of  heaven.  I  was  not  rich,  and  yet,  by  self- 
denial  on  the  part  of  my  parents,  and  by  strict  economy  on 
my  own  part,  I  succeeded  in  entering  Baliol  College,  Ox- 
ford, where  I  pursued  my  studies  with  diligence  and  suc- 
cess. This  success  was  more  essential,  because  I  could 
look  only  to  my  own  resources  in  my  struggle  with  the 
world.  But,  more  than  this,  I  had  already  learned  to 


348  HANSFORD: 

think  and  care  for  another  than  myself ;  for  I  had  yielded 
my  young  heart  to  one,  who  requited  my  affection  with  her 
own.  I  have  long  denied  myself  the  luxury  of  looking 
back  upon  the  bright  image  of  that  fair  creature,  so  fair, 
and  yet  so  fatal.  But  for  your  sake,  and  for  mine  own,  I 
will  draw  aside  the  veil,  which  has  fallen  upon  those  early 
scenes,  and  look  at  them  again. 

"  Mary  Howard  was  just  eighteen  years  of  age,  when  she 
plighted  her  troth  to  me  ;  and  surely  never  has  Heaven 
placed  a  purer  spirit  in  a  more  lovely  form.  Trusting  and 
affectionate,  her  warm  heart  must  needs  fasten  upon  some- 
thing it  might  love  ;  and  because  we  had  been  reared  to- 
gether, and  she  was  ignorant  of  the  larger  world  around  her, 
her  love  was  fixed  on  me.  I  will  not  go  back  to  those 
bright,  joyous  days  of  innocence  and  happiness.  They  are 
gone  forever,  Alfred  Bernard,  and  I  have  lived,  and  now 
live  for  another  object,  than  to  indulge  in  the  recollection 
of  joy  and  love.  The  saddest  day  of  my  whole  life,  except 
one,  and  that  has  darkened  all  the  rest,  was  when  I  first 
left  her  side  to  go  to  college.  But  still  we  looked  onward 
with  high  hope,  and  many  were  the  castles  in  the  air,  or 
rather  the  vine  clad  cottages,  which  we  reared  in  fancy,  for 
our  future  home.  Hope,  Alfred  Bernard,  though  long 
deferred,  it  may  sicken  the  heart,  yet  hope,  however  faint, 
is  better  than  despair. 

"  Well !  I  went  to  college,  and  my  love  for  Mary  spurred 
me  on  in  my  career,  and  honours  came  easily,  but  were  only 
prized  because  she  would  be  proud  of  them.  But  though 
I  was  a  hard  student,  I  was  not  without  my  friends,  for  I 
had  a  trusting  heart  then.  Among  these,  yes,  chief  among 
these,  was  Edward  Hansford." 

Bernard  started  at  the  mention  of  that  name.  He  felt 
that  some  dark  mystery  was  about  to  be  unravelled,  which 
would  establish  his  connection  with  the  unhappy  rebel. 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.         349 

Yet  he  was  lost  in  conjecture  as  to  the  character  of  the 
revelation. 

"  I  have  never  in  my  long  experience,"  continued  Hutch- 
inson,  smiling  sadly,  as  he  observed  the  effect  produced, 
"known  any  man  who  possessed,  in  so  high  a  degree,  the 
qualities  which  make  men  beloved  and  honoured.  Brave, 
generous,  and  chivalrous ;  brilliant  in  genius,  classical  in 
attainment,  profound  in  intellect.  His  person  was  a  fit 
palace  for  such  a  mind  and  such  a  heart.  Yes,  I  can  think 
of  him  now  as  he  was,  when  I  first  knew  him,  before  crime 
of  the  deepest  dye  had  darkened  his  soul.  I  loved  him  as 
I  never  had  loved  a  man  before,  as  I  never  can  love  a  man 
again.  I  might  forgive  the  past,  I  could  never  trust 
again. 

"  Edward  returned  my  love,  I  believe,  with  his  whole 
heart.  Our  studies  were  the  same,  our  feelings  and  opin- 
ions were  congenial,  and,  in  short,  in  the  language  of  our 
great  bard,  we  grew  '  like  a  double  cherry,  only  seeming 
parted.'  I  made  him  my  confidant,  and  he  used  to  laugh, 
in  his  good  humoured  way,  at  my  enthusiastic  description 
of  Mary.  He  threatened  to  fall  in  love  with  her,  himself, 
and  to  win  her  heart  from  me,  and  I  dared  him  to  do  so,  if 
he  could ;  and  even,  in  my  joyous  triumph,  invited  him 
home  with  me  in  vacation,  that  he  might  see  the  lovely 
conquest  I  had  made.  Well,  home  we  went  together,  and 
his  welcome  was  all  that  I  or  he  could  wish.  Mary,  my 
sweet,  confiding  Mary,  was  so  kind  and  gentle,  that  I  loved 
her  only  the  more,  because  she  loved  my  friend  so  much. 
I  never  dreamed  of  jealousy,  Alfred  Bernard,  or  I  might 
have  seen  beforehand  the  wiles  of  the  insidious  tempter. 
How  often  have  I  looked  with  transport  on  their  graceful 
forms,  as  they 'stood  to  watch  the  golden  sunset,  from  that 
sweet  old  porch,  over  which  the  roses  clambered  so 
thickly. 

"  But  why  do  I  thus  delay.  The  story  is  at  last  a  brief 
30 


350  HANSFORT)  ! 

one.  It  wanted  but  two  days  of  our  return  to  Oxford,  and 
we  were  all  spending  the  the  day  together  at  old  farmer 
Howard's.  Mary  seemed  strangely  sad  that  evening,  and 
whenever  I  spoke  to  her,  her  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  she 
trembled  violently.  Fool  that  I  was,  I  attributed  her 
tears  and  her  agitation  to  her  regret  at  parting  from  her 
lover.  Little  did  I  suspect  the  terrible  storm  which 
awaited  me.  Well,  we  parted,  as  lovers  part,  with  sighs 
and  tears,  but  with  me,  and  alas  1  with  me  alone  in  hope. 
Edward  himself  looked  moody  and  low-spirited,  and  I  re- 
collect that  to  cheer  him  up,  I  rallied  him  on  being  in  love 
with  Mary.  Never  will  I  forget  his  look,  now  that  the 
riddle  is  solved,  as  he  replied,  fixing  his  clear,  intense  blue 
eyes  upon  me,  'Arthur,  the  wisest  philosophy  is,  not  to 
trust  your  all  in  one  venture.  He  who  embarks  his  hopes 
and  happiness  in  the  heart  of  one  woman,  may  make  ship- 
wreck of  them  all.' 

"  '  And  so  you,  Mr.  Philosopher,'  I  replied,  gaily,  '  would 
live  and  die  an  old  bachelor.  Now,  for  mine  own  part, 
with  little  Mary's  love,  I  promise  you  that  my  bacca- 
laureate degree  at  Oxford  will  be  the  only  one  to  which  I 
will  aspire.' 

"  He  smiled,  but  said  nothing,  and  we  parted  for  the 
night. 

"  Early  the  next  morning,  even  before  the  sun  had  risen, 
I  went  to  his  room  to  wake  him — for  on  that  day  we  were 
to  have  a  last  hunt.  We  had  been  laying  up  a  stock  of 
health,  by  such  manly  exercises  for  the  coming  session. 
Intimate  as  I  was  with  him,  I  did  not  hesitate  to  enter  his 
room  without  announcing  myself.  To  my  surprise  he  was 
not  there,  and  the  bed  had  evidently  not  been  occupied. 
As  I  was  about  to  leave  the  room,  in  some  alarm,  my  eye 
rested  upon  a  letter,  which  was  lying  on  the  table,  and 
addressed  to  me.  With  a  trembling  hand  I  tore  it  open, 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         351 

and  oh,  my  God  !  it  told  me  all — the  faithlessness  of  my 
Mary,  the  villainy  of  my  friend. " 

"  The  pefidious  wretch,"  cried  Bernard,  with  indignation. 

"Beware,  Alfred  Bernard,"  said  the  clergyman;  "you 
know  not  what  you  say.  My  tale  is  not  yet  done.  I  re- 
member every  word  of  that  brief  letter  now — although  more 
than  thirty  years  have  since  passed  over  me.  It  ran  thus  : 

"  *  Forgive  me,  Arthur ;  I  meant  not  to  have  wronged 
you  when  I  came,  but  in  an  unhappy  moment  temptation 
met  me,  and  I  yielded.  My  perfidy  cannot  be  long  con- 
cealed. Heaven  has  ordained  that  the  fruit  of  our  mutual 
guilt  shall  appear  as  the  witness  of  my  baseness  and  of 
Mary's  shame.  Forgive  me,  but  above  all,  forgive  her, 
Arthur.' 

"  This  was  all.  No  name  was  even  signed  to  the  death- 
warrant  of  all  my  hopes.  At  that  moment  a  cold  chill 
came  over  my  heart,  which  has  never  left  it  since.  That 
letter  was  the  Medusa  which  turned  it  into  stone.  I  did 
not  rave — I  did  not  weep.  Believe  me,  Alfred  Bernard,  I 
was  as  calm  at  that  moment  as  I  am  now.  But  the  calm- 
ness was  more  terrible  than  open  wrath.  It  was  the  sure 
indication  of  deep-rooted,  deliberate  revenge.  I  wrote  a 
letter  to  my  father,  explaining  every  thing,  and  then  sad- 
dling my  horse,  I  turned  his  head  towards  old  Howard's 
cottage,  and  rode  like  the  lightning. 

"  The  old  man  was  sitting  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  in  the 
porch.  He  saw  me  approach,  and  in  his  loud,  hearty  voice, 
which  fell  like  fiendish  mockery  upon  my  ear,  he  cried  out, 
'  Hallo,  Arthur,  my  boy,  come  to  say  good-bye  to  your 
sweetheart  again,  hey  !  Well,  that's  right.  You  couldn't 
part  like  loveyers  before  the  stranger  and  the  old  folks. 
Shall  I  call  my  little  Molly  down  ?' " 

"  '  Old  man,'  I  said,  in  a  hollow,  sepulchral  voice,  'you 
have  no  daughter' — and  throwing  myself  from  my  horse,  1 
rushed  into  the  house. 


352  HANSFORD : 

"  I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  scene  which  followed. 
How  the  old  man  rushed  to  her  room,  and  the  truth  flashed 
upon  his  mind  that  she  had  fled  with  her  guilty  lover.  How 
he  threw  himself  upon  the  bed  of  his  lost  and  ruined 
daughter,  and  a  stranger  before  to  tears,  now  wept  aloud. 
And  how  he  prayed  with  the  fervor  of  one  who  prays  for 
the  salvation  of  a  soul,  that  God  would  strike  with  the 
lightning  of  his  wrath  the  destroyer  of  his  peace,  the  be- 
trayer of  his  daughter's  virtue.  Had  Edward  Hansford 
witnessed  that  scene,  he  had  been  punished  enough  even  for 
his  guilt. 

"  Well,  he  deserted  the  trusting  girl,  and  she  returned  to 
her  now  darkened  home ;  but,  alas,  how  changed  I  When 
her  child  was  born,  the  innocent  offspring  of  her  guilt,  in 
the  care  attending  its  nurture,  the  violent  grief  of  the 
mother  gave  way  to  a  calm  and  settled  melancholy.  All 
saw  that  the  iron  had  entered  her  soul.  Her  old  father 
died,  blessing  and  forgiving  her,  and  with  touching  regard 
for  his  memory,  she  refused  to  desecrate  his  pure  name,  by 
permitting  the  child  of  shame  to  bear  it.  She  called  it 
after  a  distant  relation,  who  never  heard  of  the  dishonour 
thus  attached  to  his  name.  A  heart  so  pure  as  was  the 
heart  of  Mary  Howard,  could  not  long  bear  up  beneath 
this  load  of  shame.  She  lingered  about  five  years  after  the 
birth  of  her  boy,  and  on  her  dying  bed  confided  the  child 
to  me.  There  in  that  sacred  hour,  I  vowed  to  rear  and 
protect  the  little  innocent,  and  by  God's  permission  I  have 
kept  that  vow. " 

"  Oh,  tell  me,  tell  me,"  said  Bernard,  wildly,  "am  I  that 
child  of  guilt  and  shame. " 

"Alas!  Alfred,  my  son,  you  are,"  said  the  preacher, 
"  but  oh,  you  know  not  all  the  terrible  vengeance  which  a 
mysterious  heaven  will  this  day  visit  on  the  children  of  your 
father." 


A  TALE  OF  BACON'S  REBELLION.         353 

As  the  awful  truth  gradually  dawne<jl  upon  him,  Bernard 
cried  with  deep  emotion. 

"  And  Edward  Hansford  !  tell  me  what  became  of  him  ?" 

"  With  the  most  diligent  search  I  could  hear  nothing  of 
him  for  years.  At  length  I  learned  that  he  had  come  to 
Virginia,  married  a  young  lady  of  some  fortune  and  family, 
and  had  at  last  been  killed  in  a  skirmish  with  the  Indians, 
leaving  an  only  son,  an  infant  in  arms,  the  only  remaining 
comfort  of  his  widowed  mother." 

"  And  that  son,"  cried  Bernard,  the  perspiration  burst- 
ing from  his  brow  in  the  agony  of  the  moment. 

"  Is  Thomas  Hansford,  who,  I  fear,  this  day  meets  his 
fate  by  a  brother's  and  a  rival's  hand." 

"  I  demand  your  proof,"  almost  shrieked  the  agitated 
fratricide. 

"  The  name  first  excited  my  suspicion,"  returned  Hutch- 
inson,  "  and  made  me  warn  you  from  crossing  his  path, 
when  I  saw  you  the  night  of  the  ball  at  Jamestown.  But 
confirmation  was  not  wanting,  for  when  this  morning  I 
visited  his  cell  to  administer  the  last  consolations  of  reli- 
gion to  him,  I  saw  him  gazing  upon  the  features  in  minia- 
ture of  that  very  Edward,  who  was  the  author  of  Mary 
Howard's  wrongs." 

With  a  wild  spring,  Alfred  Bernard  bounded  through 
the  door,  and  as  he  rushed  into  the  street,  he  heard  the 
melancholy  voice  of  the  preacher,  as  he  cried,  "  Too  late, 
too  late." 

Regardless  of  that  cry,  the  miserable  fratricide  rushed 
madly  along  the  path  which  led  to  the  place  of  execution, 
where  the  Governor  and  his  staff  in  accordance  with  the 
custom  of  the  times  had  assembled  to  witness  the  death  of 
a  traitor.  The  slow  procession  with  the  rude  sledge  on 
which  the  condemned  man  was  dragged,  was  still  seen  in 
the  distance,  and  the  deep  hollow  sound  of  the  muffled 
drum,  told  him  too  plainly  that  the  brief  space  of  time 
30* 


354  HANSFORD : 

which  remained,  was  drawing  rapidly  to  a  close.  On,  on, 
he  sped,  pushing  aside  the  surprised  populace  who  were 
themselves  hastening  to  the  gallows,  to  indulge  the  morbid 
passion  to  see  the  death  and  sufferings  of  a  fellow  man. 
The  road  seemed  lengthening  as  he  went,  but  urged  for- 
ward by  desperation,  regardless  of  fatigue,  he  still  ran 
swiftly  toward  the  spot.  He  came  to  an  amrle  of  the  road, 
where  for  a  moment  he  lost  sight  of  the  gloomy  spectacle, 
and  in  that  moment  he  suffered  the  pangs  of  unutterable 
woe.  Still  the  muffled  drum,  in  its  solemn  tones  assured 
him  that  there  was  yet  a  chance.  But  as  he  strained  his 
eyes  once  more  towards  the  fatal  spot,  the  sound  of  merry 
music  and  the  wild  shouts  of  the  populace  fell  like  horrid 
mockery  on  his  ear,  for  it  announced  that  all  was  over. 

"  To  late,  too  late,"  he  shrieked,  in  horror,  as  he  fell 
prostrate  and  lifeless  on  the  ground. 

And  above  that  dense  crowd,  unheeding  the  wild  shout 
of  gratified  vengeance  that  went  up  to  heaven  in  that  fear- 
ful moment,  the  soul  of  the  generous  and  patriotic  Hans- 
ford  soared  gladly  on  high  with  the  spirits  of  the  just,  in 
the  full  enjoyment  of  perfect  freedom. 


READER  my  tale  is  done !  The  spirits  I  have  raised 
abandon  me,  and  as  their  shadows  pass  slowly  and  silently 
away,  the  scenes  that  we  have  recounted  seem  like  the  fading 
phantoms  of  a  dream. 

Yet  has  custom  made  it  a  duty  to  give  some  brief  ac- 
count of  those  who  have  played  their  parts  in  this  our  little 
drama.  In  the  present  case,  the  intelligent  reader,  familiar 
with  the  history  of  Virginia,  will  require  our  services  but 
little. 


A  TALE  OP  BACON'S  REBELLION.          355 

History  has  relieved  us  of  the  duty  of  describing  how 
bravely  Thomas  Hansford  met  his  early  fate,  and  how  by 
his  purity  of  life,  and  his  calmness  in  death,  he  illustrated 
the  noble  sentiment  of  Corneile,  that  the  crime  and  not 
the  gallows  constitutes  the  shame. 

History  has  told  how  William  Berkeley,  worn  out  by 
care  and  age,  yielded  his  high  functions  to  a  milder  sway, 
and  returned  to  England  to  receive  the  reward  of  his 
rigour  in  his  master's  smile ;  and  how  that  Charles  Stuart, 
who  with  all  his  faults  was  not  a  cruel  man,  repulsed  the 
stern  old  loyalist  with  a  frown,  and  made  his  few  remain- 
ing days  dark  and  bitter. 

History  has  recorded  the  tender  love  of  Berkeley  for  his 
wife,  who  long  mourned  his  death,  and  at  length  dried  her 
widowed  tears  on  the  warm  and  generous  bosom  of  Philip 
Ludwell. 

And  lastly,  history  has  recorded  how  the  masculine 
nature  of  Sarah  Drummond,  broken  down  with  affliction 
and  with  poverty,  knelt  at  the  throne  of  her  king  to  receive 
from  his  justice  the  broad  lands  of  her  husband,  which  had 
been  confiscated  by  the  uncompromising  vengeance  of  Sir 
William  Berkeley. 

Arthur  Hutchinson,  the  victim  of  the  treachery  of  his 
early  friends,  returned  to  England,  and  deprived  of  the 
sympathy  of  all,  and  of  the  companionship  of  Bernard, 
whose  society  had  become  essential  to  his  happiness,  pined 
away  in  obscurity,  and  died  of  a  broken  heart. 

Alfred  Bernard,  the  treacherous  friend,  the  heartless 
lover,  the  remorseful  fratricide,  could  no  longer  raise  his 
eyes  to  the  betrothed  mistress  of  his  brother.  He  returned, 
with  his  patron,  Sir  William  Berkeley,  to  his  native  land  ; 
and  in  the  retirement  of  the  old  man's  desolate  home,  he 
led  a  few  years  of  deep  remorse.  Upon  the  death  of  his 
patron,  his  active  spirit  became  impatient  of  the  seclusion 
in  which  he  had  been  buried,  and  true  to  his  religion,  if  to 


356  HANSFORD I 

naught  else,  he  engaged  in  one  of  the  popish  plots,  so  com- 
mon in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second,  and  at  last  met  a 
rebel's  fate. 

Colonel  and  Mrs.  Temple,  lived  long  and  happily  in  each 
other's  love ;  administering  to  the  comfort  of  their  bereaved 
child,  and  mutually  sustaining  each  other,  as  they  descended 
the  hill  of  life,  until  they  "slept  peacefully  together  at  its 
foot."  The  events  of  the  Rebellion,  having  been  conse- 
crated by  being  consigned  to  the  glorious  past,  furnished  a 
constant  theme  to  the  old  lady — and  late  in  life  she  was 
heard  to  say,  that  you  could  never  meet  now-a-days,  such 
loyalty  as  then  prevailed,  nor  among  the  rising  generation 
of  powdered  fops,  and  flippant  damsels,  could  you  find  such 
faithful  hearts  as  Hansford's  and  Virginia's. 

And  Virginia  Temple,  the  gentle  and  trusting  Virginia, 
was  not  entirely  unhappy.  The  first  agony  of  despair  sub- 
sided into  a  gentle  melancholy.  Content  in  the  perform- 
ance of  the  quiet  duties  allotted  to  her,  she  could  look  back 
with  calmness  and  even  with  a  melancholy  pleasure  to  the 
bright  dream  of  her  earlier  days.  She  learned  to  kiss  the 
rod  which  had  smitten  her,  and  which  blossomed  with 
blessings — and  purified  by  affliction,  her  gentle  nature  be- 
came ripened  for  the  sweet  reunion  with  her  Hansford,  to 
which  she  looked  forward  with  patient  hope.  The  human 
heart,  like  the  waters  of  Bethesda,  needs  often  to  be  trou- 
bled to  yield  its  true  qualities  of  health  and  sweetness. 
Thus  was  it  with  Virginia,  and  in  a  peaceful  resignation 
to  her  Father's  will,  she  lived  and  passed  away,  moving 
through  the  world,  like  the  wind  of  the  sweet  South, 
receiving  and  bestowing  blessings. 


THE   END. 


w*  •  ^-/      i 


Ha6 


14  DAY  USE 

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